Garda Green Talk 2025, the lake put to the test of sustainability

06 November 2025

The collective conscience of Lake Garda finds its voice in Garda Green Talk 2025, the second edition of the forum dedicated to the major issues affecting the future of the lake. The initiative, organised by the Garda Green business network in collaboration with Legambiente and sponsored by Federalberghi Garda Veneto and Lago di Garda Camping, took place at the Palazzo dei Capitani in Malcesine on Wednesday 29 October.
Around four working tables – dedicated to four themes: climate adaptation, mobility, tourism and liveability, energy and waste – administrators, trade associations, tourism businesses, experts and certification bodies exchanged views. There are many issues in the spotlight, but one underlying goal: to find a balance between growth and sustainability, between economic development and environmental protection, between tourism and liveability.
On Lake Garda, as in other areas experiencing the growing impact of tourism (in 1990, the lake had 5 million visitors, today there are 24 million), this is the real urgency.
‘The aim of this event,’ explains Davide Fumaneri, director of Garda Green, the network of companies promoting an ecological and sustainability protocol for tourism businesses, "is to bring together the various players to achieve shared governance, capable of looking towards common goals and greater environmental, social and cultural sustainability. Garda Green Talk is the manifesto of the dialogue that animates the “behind the scenes” of Garda Green, a project launched in 2016 with the aim of providing Lake Garda with a protocol for hotels, campsites and restaurants to respect the environment through feasible solutions."
In short, it is an opportunity for administrators, entrepreneurs, associations and citizens to come together and imagine a lake that is accessible to everyone – not just tourists.
The direction has been set: it involves networks, integrated planning, certification, participation and local alliances. In every field.

The plenary session
Numerous contributions were brought to the attention of the plenary session, which discussed the proposals that emerged from the round tables. Here are some of the interventions.

Matteo Gazzi, Councillor for Ecology and Tourism of the Municipality of Malcesine: 'For decades, we have based the measurement of tourism on purely quantitative data: arrivals and overnight stays, occupancy rates. Today, a new need has arisen: to measure tourism in qualitative terms. What value do tourist numbers generate for local areas and resident communities? And what added value can the local area offer visitors? Today, resident communities want liveable areas and better living conditions. A new balance is needed, and responsible and courageous action is required to maintain the identity and authenticity of our towns, which are the real tourist attraction of Lake Garda."

Francesco Zeitler, vice-president of Giovani Albergatori Federalberghi nazionale (National Federation of Young Hoteliers): 'The issue of tourism sustainability is very important to the new generations of tourists, who are increasingly inclined to reward virtuous destinations and facilities when choosing their holiday destinations. Hoteliers are aware of this and have been taking concrete measures in this regard for some time, such as eliminating single-use plastics, using dispensers for toiletries, sourcing local and organic products, implementing renewable energy and sustainable waste management."


Anna Granzotto, president of Giovani Albergatori Bresciani (Young Hoteliers of Brescia) of Federalberghi Brescia, touches on the sensitive issue of mass tourism: ‘Hit-and-run tourism creates inconvenience without bringing real well-being. We need to rethink the tourism model.’

Vittorio Mazzoldi, vice-president of Federalberghi Garda Veneto: "Hoteliers are at the forefront of reducing the negative impact of tourism on the area. We try to empower our guests, for example by encouraging them to make greater use of public transport and soft mobility. We also take direct action to make our facilities increasingly sustainable in terms of energy and waste production. Our goal is to create economic, cultural and social development."

Pierlucio Ceresa, Secretary General of the Garda Community: "The water of Lake Garda represents 40% of the fresh water available in Italy, a strategic resource for future generations for various uses: drinking, tourism, agriculture and industry. To protect this resource, we need unified management that sees Lake Garda as the subject, the “dominus”. Climate change is happening, we have been noticing it for years. The Eulakes study has proposed scenarios that should make us reflect: in the worst-case scenario, the temperature of Lake Garda's waters could increase by up to 5 degrees over the next 100 years, and in the best-case scenario by between 2 and 3 degrees. What will this mean? Everything will change, from water level management to fish fauna. The Lake Contract shows us the way towards a Lake Garda that is more resilient to climate change.

Senator Aurora Floridia, President of the Council of Europe's Network for a Healthy Environment: 'We must remember that Lake Garda's natural capital is the source of livelihood for the entire tourism sector, which is why it is essential to protect it. Environmental protection is not at odds with economic growth; on the contrary, they go hand in hand. Today, I return from the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the European Landscape Convention, which has transformed our idea of landscape: no longer a static subject, but a dynamic and living scenario with which people interact. Landscape is also culture and democracy."


Marica Di Pierri's conclusions
Marica Di Pierri, journalist and environmental communicator, facilitated the plenary session after the round table discussions and drew the following conclusions: "The Garda Green Talk brought together a number of interrelated and highly complex issues, such as climate adaptation, transport and mobility, waste and energy management, and the liveability of local communities. Some key messages emerged, such as the need for integrated planning and local involvement. It is a methodological objective: to understand how to recognise the plurality of local stakeholders and how to involve them in this journey towards finding a complex balance between the ecosystem, tourism and the quality of life of residents. Garda Green Talk was a starting point for a follow-up, to begin building a common and shared path with all stakeholders that will restore a unique vision of the Garda ecosystem in the coming decades. 

The next Garda Green Talk event will be held in March 2026, at the start of the tourist season.