Geomorphology and Environmental Impact Assessment: a case study in Moena (Dolomites – Italy).

Moena is a small town at the intersection of three valleys (Fiemme, Fassa and San Pellegrino) in the Italian Dolomites (North-Eastern Alps).Due to the large number of holiday makers using the town's infrastructures both in summer and winter, the local authorities have acknowledged the need for the construction of a ring-road round Moena for the last twenty years.This paper analyses the relationships between landforms, in particular geomorphological assets, and the project of the road, and between processes and project, in order to assess impacts and risks and suggest the mitigation measures that should reduce them.Impacts are assessed by means of a geomorphological asset map deduced from the general geomorphological map and combined with considerations on the fragility and value of the geomorphological asset.Risks are assessed by means of a geomorphological hazard map deduced from the general geomorphological map and combined with considerations on the vulnerability of the project and other human properties.The research points out that impacts on the landforms are quite low whereas some risks are possible in the slope system crossed by the road. In fact, on the left slope of the Fassa Valley south of Moena some small slope processes are possible but their dimensions and amount of movement can be mitigated by diminishing the vulnerability of the road.