Wood as "necessary evil": trees and man in the italian mountain

di Oscar Gaspari
in Memoria e Ricerca n.s. 1 (1998), p. 57

The relationship between man and woods is the overpopulated italian mountains during the early years of the twentieth century is a very difficult one: trees are necessary for the environmental balance, but man needs also growing fields and cattle pastures. The italian state policy of intervention in favour of woods causes protests among the mountains population and a few studious and politicians underline the importance of finding a balance between man and woods requires. That perspective of balance is given up during the fascism when hydroelectric industry, interested in the protection of mountain dams from the land erosion, backs the supporters of afforestation as the only outlook for the mountain development, in line with the increasing influence of tourist trade. The evolution of the relationship between man and woods in Italy has many interesting points in common with the development of the forestal policy in France.