Geosciences IR Research Infrastructure: Integrated Monitoring and Data-Driven Tools for Sustainable Territorial Planning in Italy

Geosciences IR is a research infrastructure that has been funded under the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). Coordinated by ISPRA, the project involves 16 institutional partners (13 universities and 3 research institutes) with the aim of developing a research infrastructure in sup-port of the Italian Network of Geological Services (RISG) and, more broadly, all stakeholders involved in spatial planning. Through the integrated monitoring of geological and environmental phenomena, Geosciences IR provides essential data and tools for risk analysis and sustainable land-use planning. Twelve priority top-ics are addressed, including geological mapping, landslides, marine geology, land take, and sinkholes. Data are produced in accordance with FAIR principles and INSPIRE standards, and are made available on a cloud platform equipped with e-learning courses and dedicated digital tools. The Operational Unit of the University of L’Aquila has contributed with a specific focus on the issue of land take, a subject that is now central to both European and national policy agendas. A comparative analysis of European regulatory frameworks revealed significant heterogeneity and, in the Italian case, a critical gap due to the absence of a national framework law. To address this, a toolkit for municipal planning was developed, enabling a bottom-up, informed approach to land management and fostering the development of sustainable, transformative policies that are responsive to the actual needs of local communities.