Possible Sustainable Actions for Implementing a River Contract—The Case of the Rio Capodacqua-Santa Croce in Central Italy

The aim of this article is to illustrate the actions taken to implement the Rio Capodacqua–Santa Croce River Contract in Central Italy. The aim was to develop this inclusive and voluntary strategic and negotiated planning tool with the aim of protecting and managing water resources, enhancing the river ecosystem and mitigating flood risk, thereby contributing to local development. The participation of municipalities, local authorities, stakeholders and citizens’ associations in this instrument has made it possible to identify the environmental and territorial issues in this area and thus propose actions to resolve them, integrating and coordinating existing plans and programmes and the interests of that territory. These actions were defined through a participatory process involving all those interested in the watercourse and the territory it crosses. Among the proposed actions, priority was given to those offering “sustainable” solutions to certain critical issues, such as pollution of the lower reaches of the river or the essentially anthropogenic threat to the river and riparian habitats widespread in its upper reaches. These habitats, protected by the Natura 2000 network, are home to fish species of great conservation interest, among other things. Finally, flood mitigation works and measures are assessed, as floods are becoming increasingly aggressive due to climate change and are impacting urbanised areas. All these actions have been compared with sustainability objectives to highlight their effectiveness in the current management of a river basin with a view to the future.