12. Existing Sustainability Actions
Strategies, Protected Areas and Emerging Delivery Frameworks
Sardinia has an established policy and institutional base for sustainable development. Its challenge is not the absence of relevant plans, protected areas or programmes. It is the consistent delivery, coordination, financing, monitoring and public reporting required to connect those instruments to measurable destination outcomes.
The principal regional framework is Sardegna2030, the Regional Strategy for Sustainable Development, approved in October 2021 as Sardinia’s territorial implementation of Italy’s National Sustainable Development Strategy and the UN 2030 Agenda. The strategy includes environmental protection, climate action, energy transition and circular economy among its central commitments.[regione.sardegna]
For tourism, the strategy identifies directions including integrated ecotourism proposals in natural and rural areas, active and well-being tourism outside the main season, improved accessibility, more sustainable mobility, greater accommodation efficiency and shared rules for the use of environmental resources—including beaches—according to their sensitivity.[regione.sardegna]
These commitments are relevant to destination management because they acknowledge that tourism cannot be separated from biodiversity, transport, energy, land use and community development.
| Action area | Documented regional direction | Key question for this paper |
|---|---|---|
| Biodiversity | Strengthen protected areas, Natura 2000 management, monitoring and ecological governance | Are ecological outcomes, visitor pressure and management capacity being measured consistently? |
| Climate adaptation | Integrate climate risk into regional planning and destination management | How are heat, drought, erosion and extreme events being translated into local tourism decisions? |
| Coastal management | Protect coastal resources and regulate use according to environmental sensitivity | Are access, parking, dune protection, anchoring and seasonal capacity managed together? |
| Sustainable tourism | Develop active, rural, cultural and lower-season tourism | Does diversification create local value without transferring pressure to new vulnerable areas? |
| Circular economy | Improve waste prevention, recovery and resource efficiency | Are tourism businesses and visitor areas included in measurable circularity programmes? |
| Mobility | Improve sustainable access and visitor movement | Are public transport, cycling, walking and managed access practical at high-pressure locations? |
| Energy transition | Reduce emissions and strengthen renewable energy and efficiency | Are projects landscape-sensitive, ecologically appropriate and locally beneficial? |
In May 2025, the Sardinian Regional Government described a programme of biodiversity-related actions that included strengthening the capacity of protected-area and Natura 2000 managers, revising governance arrangements, participating in European projects, improving environmental monitoring and integrating biodiversity policy with agriculture, culture and tourism.[regione.sardegna]
These are important implementation directions. However, the announcement should not be treated as proof that the intended outcomes have already been achieved. The evidence required includes delivery budgets, staffing, management-plan implementation, monitoring results, habitat-condition indicators, visitor-use data and public reporting.
Sardinia is also participating in climate-adaptation work specifically relevant to coastal tourism. Under the NaTour4Cchange project, the region has developed work in Villasimius and Capo Carbonara and, in 2026, announced Tavolara–Punta Coda Cavallo as a second pilot location. The project links climate adaptation, nature-based solutions, coastal ecosystems and tourism management.[natour4cchange.interreg-euro-med]
This work is promising because it recognises that destination resilience requires more than tourism promotion or generic environmental policy. It requires locally specific action on beaches, dunes, marine habitats, visitor access, infrastructure exposure and community participation.
The relevant distinction for this paper is between:
- A stated policy objective.
- An approved strategy or plan.
- A funded implementation programme.
- An operational measure.
- A monitored output.
- A measured environmental, social or economic outcome.
Sardinia has a substantial number of the first three elements. The central research task is to identify, for each priority area, where documented implementation and measured outcomes are already available and where evidence remains incomplete.
A credible sustainable-destination approach should build on existing action rather than duplicate it. It should make those actions more visible, connect them across sectors and establish indicators capable of showing whether they improve ecological condition, climate resilience, local value and visitor experience over time.