Large island, big issues. Vulnerability and resilience in Sardinia

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. In recent decades, heated political, scientific and cultural debates have shown growing concern for coastal land consumption and produced increasing awareness and sensibility on effects due to vulnerability, risks and natural hazards. Approximately half of the Sardinian surface is considered vulnerable to current or future desertification processes. Wildfires, water consumption, urbanisation and land abandonment in declining rural districts, as well as overgrazing and farming intensification in other areas, are some of the major climate-related issues. Tourism activities, which are concentrated in time (summer) and space (coastline), strongly contribute to the regional system’s vulnerability. In recent decades, inadequate policies and weak territorial planning have been observed even though climate and environmental issues are increasingly recognised as crucial elements for the future of the island. This article focuses on the local level by considering the formation and consolidation of the discursive practices of the protagonists in the regional debate. Government rationalities as well as rules and policies on prevention, mitigation and adaptation practices are relevant elements for the analysis.Development and planning strategies and practices, as well as relevant official documents, are also analysed and discussed.