Antifragility Supporting the Development of Regional Environmental Plans: The case of Liguria in Italy.

by Oliviero Casale

Introduction

Antifragility, a concept developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, represents an innovative and crucial approach to addressing contemporary environmental, social, and economic challenges. Unlike resilience, which merely resists shocks, antifragility seeks to benefit from uncertainty and chaos to improve and thrive. Recently, the Regione Liguria (Liguria Region in Italy) has adopted this principle in its Environmental Report, recognizing its importance in territorial management and sustainable development.

Antifragility in Liguria Region's Environmental Report: In the context of the Regional Territorial Plan (PTR), the Liguria Region has highlighted the need to move beyond traditional territorial management models in favor of more dynamic and proactive tools. The PTR aims not only to have a static and regulatory vision of the territory but to embrace an approach that promotes flexibility, self-learning, and experimentation.

The Dynamic Approach of the PTR

The PTR serves as a reference framework capable of coordinating actions on the territory, making them concrete and sustainable. The main objectives include:

• Creating local projects capable of responding quickly to changes and recognizing multiple memories and knowledge.
• Developing rapid and effective response strategies to stress phenomena, activating adaptation measures and self-regulation mechanisms of the system.

Inspired by the concept of antifragility, this management model aims to transform difficulties into opportunities to develop innovative solutions. During the pandemic period, this philosophy further demonstrated its relevance, highlighting the need for rapid and effective strategies to respond to stress events and activate adaptation and self-regulation measures.

Antifragility and Sustainable Development

Antifragility is integrated into the PTR's philosophy as a tool to address major crises, whether economic, natural, or health-related. Response policies require an integrated approach that includes adaptation and mitigation measures aimed at reducing the extent of negative impacts and transforming uncertainties into competitive advantages.

The concept of sustainable development in the Liguria Region is based on a balance between social, economic, and environmental needs, made increasingly complex by the destabilizing dynamics of crises. In this framework, antifragility offers a path to overcome fragility and vulnerability, promoting a territorial system capable of continuously improving and adapting.

Conclusion

The Environmental Report of the Liguria Region is a concrete example of how the concept of antifragility can be applied in territorial management. Adopting an antifragile approach means not only resisting shocks but using them as opportunities to grow and improve. This paradigm shift is essential for developing regional plans that are not only sustainable but also capable of thriving in the disorder and uncertainty of the modern world.        

source: PIANO TERRITORIALE AMBIENTALE REGIONE LIGURIA