Legambiente is an Italian environmentalist association with roots in the anti-nuclear movement that developed in Italy and throughout the Western world in the second half of the 1970s. Founded in 1980 as part of the ARCI, it later became a stand-alone organisation. Originally known as Lega per l'ambiente (League for the Environment), it changed its name during the IV National Congress held in Parma in 1992. Important values for the association include the improvement of environmental quality, the fight against all forms of pollution, and a wise use of natural resources. It is considered the most widespread environmental organisation in Italy, as it is composed of a national headquarter in Rome, 20 regional branches, about 1,000 local groups and more than 115,000 members.
Activity
Legambiente's activity is based on scientific environmentalism, which means that every campaign or proposal for the protection of the environment is developed from a preliminary review of scientific data.
In more than 35 years of activity, Legambiente has organised many environmental monitoring and awareness-raising campaigns and volunteering activities on air quality, sea pollution and marine litter. It fought against illegal building and denounced the illegal dumping of waste and the action of ecomafie, with an annual report on environmental crimes related to the activities of criminal organisations. The association promotes the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, a green and circular economy, preservation of natural protected areas, and the fight against illegal waste management. It annually carries out analyses of the environment in Italy with the "Ambiente Italia" report. It was among the promoters of the 1987 and 2011 referendums against nuclear energy.
The association publishes the monthly news magazine La Nuova Ecologia (New Ecology).
Among its most famous activists are Ermete Realacci, chairman from 1987 to 2003 and to this day honorary chairman of Legambiente, member of the Italian Parliament from 2001 to 2018; Laura Conti (1921-1993), a medical doctor, historical figure of Italian ecologism, involved in the studies about Seveso health effects in 1976, and member of the Parliament for the PCI from 1987 to 1992; Fabrizio Giovenale (1918-2006), an urban planner, writer, ecologist, founding member of Legambiente and editor for La Nuova Ecologia; and Alexander Langer (1946-1995), a founding member of the Federation of the Greens, who promoted many meetings for peace and the environment.
Chernobyl disaster
On 26 April 1986, an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine released a radioactive cloud across half of Europe. The magazine La Nuova Ecologia and the Lega per l'Ambiente, in early May, showed evidence during a press conference of the data about radiation levels detected in the country.
Legambiente was one of the promoters of the referendum committee against nuclear power, the coalition "Vote Yes to stop Nuclear", consisting of more than 60 associations, which promoted the mobilization for a referendum on nuclear power on 12 and 13 June 2011. More than one million people voted in favour of the referendum.
The word ecomafia appeared for the first time in 1994 in the first report written by Legambiente with the help of Eurispes and the Carabinieri as a result of the Naples waste management issue.
The collaboration with the Carabinieri was not common for an environmental organisation in the mid 1990s. The task was entrusted to Enrico Fontana, a journalist, with a background at the newspaper Paese Sera and then at L'Espresso. With Stefano Ciafani, Nunzio Cirino, and Lorenzo Miracle, they started to collect and systematize information and data about environmental crimes. This led to the "Ecomafia report", a work which in a few years has become a reference for those who work to suppress this phenomenon. The relationship grew to encourage work with all law enforcement agencies and now Legambiente works with the National Anti-Mafia pool to fight ecomafia.
Mal'Aria
Mal'Aria (meaning bad air, a play on the word malaria) is one of the historic campaigns of the association. Every year, during the months of January and February, initiatives are held to boost public transport at the expense of private transport, the main cause of poor air quality in cities, especially because of the notorious particulate matter. The occasional 'car-free days' didn't prove effective at improving air quality. One of the most characteristic aspects of the initiative is the exposure of 'smog catching sheets', simple white sheets that are exposed in the open air (from windows, balconies etc.), especially in "sensitive" areas, urban centers, industrial areas, schools. After a month, the blackening of the sheet is a clear and low-tech indicator of the air-quality.
People linked to the association
Chicco Testa, first secretary and then president of the Association in the early 1980s. Later, he became a member of the PCI and of the PDS, and served as president of Acea and Enel. After having supported the battle against nuclear energy in the 1980s, on the occasion of the 2011 referendum he instead openly supported the return to nuclear power, becoming president of the Italian Nuclear Forum.
Laura Conti (1921-1993), doctor, historical figure of Italian environmentalism, was among the first to be interested in the Seveso desaster of 1976. Member of the PCI from 1987 to 1992, she was also president of the scientific committee of the League for the Environment.
Alexander Langer (1946-1995), one of the founders of the Federation of the Greens party, and was the promoter of numerous initiatives for peace, coexistence, human rights, against genetic manipulation and for the defense of the environment.
Massimo Serafini, one of the founders of the newspaper Il manifesto. Member of the PCI from 1983 to 1992, he was among the presenters of the main legislative proposals on environmental issues. Among the promoters of the 1987 anti-nuclear referendum, he is a member of the National Assembly of Legambiente's elected representatives.
Francesco Ferrante, general manager from 1995 to 2007, elected Senator in 2006 with The Daisy, he was The Olive Tree's group leader in the Senate Environment Committee from 2006 to 2003 and then still a member of the Senate from 2008 to 2013 for the Democratic Party.
