Environmental excellence

The “Costermano sul Garda: Environmental Excellence” project aims at defining a strategy that seeks to protect the landscape and to develop the open spaces of the municipal territory in order to increase experiential tourism, juxtaposing traditional accommodation facilities with new models where the contact with nature predominates.
A number of places have been identified, which can form a system to create a new framework for exploring and enjoying the territory. These areas can be linked together to set up a new “green” infrastructure that can perform ecological and environmental functions and at the same time offer new opportunities for a sustainable socio-economic development based on local resources.
The transformation of the landscape finds its best expression in the project that will become a hinge between the natural and man-made environment, able to constitute itself as a generator of a continuous system, and capable of forming a strong bond that restores the close relationship between nature and the historical and social life of man. The creation and connection of new areas that can be used by the local community and tourists will help to make the landscape recognisable so that it becomes a real infrastructure for exploring and experiencing the territory to the fullest.

Sustainable local development implies a balance between nature and socio-economic progress. It means that we must learn to use the natural heritage without altering it. The aim is to generate lasting prosperity, improving the wellbeing of the territory and its citizens through dialogue and cooperation between institutional, social and economic actors.
The ability to adapt the concept of sustainability to the unique and special context of Costermano del Garda stems from the community’s awareness of the intrinsic value of limited resources (such as water and soil) that must be saved, and the value of consumer goods whose use can easily be extended through processes of reuse and recycling.

Mobility with low environmental impact comes from the need for people to move freely within the territory while reducing pollution and negative external effects (noise pollution, smog, traffic, accidents, greenhouse gas or dust emissions).
Correct planning of sustainable mobility improves environmental quality, reduces costs and energy consumption, helps to plan territorial and corporate policies.
The bike is the emblem of sustainable mobility. It is the cheapest and most popular means of transport that allows people to move with minimal environmental impact. For this reason, it is important to work towards this type of mobility by creating infrastructures and encouraging a collective awareness aimed at preventing the progressive deterioration of the environment and possible irreversible ecological damage.

Today’s tourist and traveller is no longer satisfied with taking photos of the vacation spot or the beauty of a location, but wants to go back home with an unforgettable and special memory, with something extra, such as an activity or experience that allows them to fully discover and experience the special features of an area. “Experiential travel” refers to the idea of having a more immersive travel experience. In this case, the focus is on the experience of travel, on the cultural, gastronomic and outdoor activities that a territory and its socio-economic fabric can offer. This translates into the creation of a unique offer able to convey the authenticity of the territory and the traditions of the place in a simple, natural and unmanufactured manner.

Biodiversity conservation is about saving life on earth and keeping the natural ecosystems functioning and healthy. By protecting the natural ecosystems, we also conserve the resources and services that they provide us: water, food, pharmaceutical substances, natural fibres, wood. The Municipality of Costermano has identified the framework for the establishment of the Parco di Interesse Locale (Park of Local Interest) in accordance with the World Convention on Biodiversity and the European Strategy to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2020.
The “Natura 2000” areas are largely centred on the presence of man and the social, cultural and economic aspects and regional particularities existing in the sites of the network.
The “Parco di Interesse Locale” project is linked to the Habitat Directive of the “Natura 2000” network. This ecological network aims at the long-lasting conservation of habitats and plant and animal species at a European level.

Environmental education is a training strategy that works by connecting people with the environment in order to develop positive behaviours for conserving the environmental heritage, in its broadest sense (i.e. natural, historical and cultural) through nature education, participatory planning, sustainable development and active citizenship. Environmental education inside schools is configured as transversal education, which should not be limited to ecology, natural sciences or history of the territory and its artistic expressions, but should also highlight the links and relationships between all these aspects, individual values, construction of knowledge, including the actions and therefore the behaviour of individuals.