Lombardy and OACM: announcement of the certification of Lake Como and Lake Garda within the “blue economy” on inland waters
Lombardy, Italy’s most developed and most populous region, has in recent years been increasingly openly seeking models that combine tourism, environmental protection, and the local economy. In this context, an announcement of cooperation with the Ocean Alliance Conservation Member (OACM) initiative has appeared in public, which through its White Flag International brand promotes a system for certifying “SAFE” areas and programs for the physical removal of waste from aquatic ecosystems. According to OACM materials, the focus is increasingly expanding to lakes and rivers as well, with the message that part of the standards developed for coastal areas could also be applied to inland waters, especially where tourism and nature protection depend on the actual quality of the environment.
In Lombardy, within this framework, two symbolic “engines” of Northern Italian tourism are most often mentioned: Lake Como and Lake Garda. Both areas have for years lived off a combination of landscape, cultural heritage, gastronomy, and luxury offerings, but at the same time they are exposed to the pressures of mass visits, boat traffic, infrastructure strain, and the broader problem of pollution – from visible litter to increasingly difficult-to-measure micropollutants.
What is OACM and what White Flag certification means
On its own website, OACM describes itself as a global initiative focused on “concrete measures” to protect aquatic ecosystems, including oceans, lakes, and rivers, with an emphasis on the physical removal of plastic waste and aquatic debris from the bottom and from shorelines. Within the same framework operates White Flag International, which promotes a procedure for certifying areas after cleaning and periodic monitoring, with OACM terminology often mentioning the CSMA label (Certified SAFE Marine Area) – for clarification, in their descriptions CSMA can also refer to lakes and rivers, not only the sea.
OACM states that certification is carried out with the involvement of White Flag inspectors and technical teams, and part of the procedure includes measurements and documentation of the area’s condition before and after the intervention. Related materials describing certification protocols also mention sediment measurements and assessments of microplastic pollution as one of the elements in understanding the initial condition and the risk of re-pollution.
It is also important to note that public discussions about OACM sometimes raise questions about credibility and ways of operating. For example, the Maltese investigative portal The Shift News previously wrote critically about certain activities and promotions connected with the White Flag initiative. This does not have to automatically refute every local clean-up action, but it is a signal that any potential application of the certificate in Lombardy must be maximally transparent: with a clearly published methodology, independent measurements, publicly available reports, and compliance with Italian and European regulations.
Why the story is moving to lakes: the “blue economy” and inland waters
The European Commission defines the “blue economy” as a set of sectors and activities related to the sea, the coast, and water resources, with an emphasis on sustainability, innovation, and social inclusion. In official EU documents, the emphasis is still strongly directed toward marine and coastal sectors (such as maritime transport, fisheries, coastal tourism, and offshore renewable energy), but broader interpretations are increasingly used in scientific and professional discussions, which also include tourism and economic activities linked to freshwater systems.
For Lombardy, this link is natural: the region is densely populated, intensively industrialized, and strongly tourism-oriented, and at the same time it depends on water quality for drinking-water supply, irrigation, recreation, and ecosystem conservation. Scientific papers on the state of inland waters in Lombardy warn of a complex combination of risks – from the legacy of pesticides and chemical pollution to the pressures of energy use of rivers and hydrotechnical interventions.
Lake Como: a luxury brand and the question of actual water quality
Lake Como is a globally recognized tourism brand, but its value depends on how much the lake remains safe and attractive for residents and visitors. In recent years, scientific literature has particularly highlighted studies that track so-called micropollutants (for example, traces of pharmaceuticals) and their path through the water cycle – from inflows and treatment plants to lake water and, in some cases, drinking water obtained from the lake. Such papers, published in peer-reviewed journals, indicate that the issue of water quality cannot be reduced to what is visible to the eye (floating waste), but requires systematic monitoring, investments in wastewater treatment, and measures to reduce pollutant inputs.
That is precisely why some experts warn that certificates and labels make sense only if they are tied to measurable indicators and continuous monitoring, and not only to a one-off clean-up action. If Lombardy truly moves toward “certifying” parts of Lake Como, the key questions will be: who measures, according to which standards, how often, what are the thresholds for intervention, and how are the results communicated to the public.
Lake Garda: Italy’s largest lake under pressure from tourism
Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy, stretches across three regions – Lombardy, Veneto, and Trentino-Alto Adige – and represents a strong tourism and economic resource. Precisely because of this interregional nature, managing water quality and environmental protection is more complex than in systems within a single administrative unit.
Scientific research in recent years records the presence of plastic and microplastic in lake systems, and in the case of Garda, papers have been published that used practical technologies for collecting floating waste (such as “Seabin”-type devices) to simultaneously track the composition and seasonal variability of waste – whereby tourist seasons can significantly change the quantities and types of recorded particles. European institutions, through projects financed from EU funds, further highlight the problem of microplastic in freshwater systems and the importance of monitoring and improving the efficiency of treatment plants, because part of the microplastic remains in the treatment process, but part ends up in the environment.
Such findings do not mean that Garda is “lost” or unsafe, but they remind us that tourist reputation and real ecological resilience do not always go hand in hand. If there is talk of a certificate that would give Garda and Lombardy an additional marketing and reputational boost, then the criteria must be strict enough to withstand scrutiny from science and regulators – and clear enough to be understood by local communities and visitors.
What “Certified SAFE Continental Water” could mean in practice
In public announcements and promotions that accompany OACM, the term “Certified SAFE Continental Water” appears, suggesting an adaptation of the concept of “SAFE” areas to inland waters. OACM and White Flag International already include lakes and rivers in their descriptions of the CSMA concept, emphasizing physical waste removal, certification, and periodic monitoring. However, it is currently not clear whether there is a single, widely accepted, and independently verified standard for “continental” waters comparable to established international schemes in tourism or the environment.
Because of this, if Lombardy truly embarks on such a program, it will be crucial to separate two levels:
- the operational level: concrete clean-up actions, waste removal, team organization and logistics, and measures to prevent re-pollution
- the credibility level: publication of methodology, involvement of public institutions, independent laboratories and universities, and comparability of data over time
Without that second level, the “certified” label easily slips into pure PR. With it, however, the certificate can become a management tool: a signal to the tourism sector that standards are being raised, but also an instrument of pressure to accelerate investments in sewage, treatment, and monitoring.
The role of public institutions and the issue of transparency
In Italy and within EU frameworks, water and environmental management relies on rules that go beyond local campaigns: from water quality standards to obligations in wastewater and nature protection. Therefore, in the event of OACM and White Flag involvement in Lombardy, it would be crucial that the process does not remain at the level of a private or semi-private initiative, but that it is aligned with public oversight and existing regulatory mechanisms.
Practice in managing large lake systems shows that the best results are possible when three components are combined: local utility services and water agencies, scientific institutions that can ensure methodology and data interpretation, and the tourism sector that has an interest in investing in reputation, but also a responsibility to reduce its own ecological footprint. In that sense, Lombardy – if it wants to set a “precedent” for continental water tourism – would have to ensure publicly available annual reports, measurement data, and intervention plans, regardless of who carries out the operational clean-up.
Broader context: microplastic and “invisible” pollution
Microplastic in lakes is becoming a European topic not only because of aesthetics and tourism, but also because of impacts on biodiversity and potential risks to human health. EU-funded projects indicate that treatment plants can retain part of microplastic, but not all, so particles end up in the environment, where they can affect freshwater organisms. Scientific papers on lakes in Italy, including the Garda system, emphasize the seasonal effect of tourism on waste quantities and the need for standardized monitoring.
For Como, research on micropollutants and pharmaceutical traces points to an even broader spectrum of problems: even with a relatively tidy shoreline, chemical traces and microparticles can remain in the system, so protection policy cannot be reduced to “cleaning” in the narrow sense. It is precisely here that space opens up for a new kind of tourism policy: one that links safety and luxury to measurable ecology, and not only to the image of the destination.
Will certification become a standard or remain an experiment?
Announcements of Lombardy’s “pioneering” move in certifying inland waters fit into broader European debates on the sustainability of tourism and the transition toward greener economic models. Through sustainable blue economy strategies, the European Commission emphasizes that sector growth must be aligned with resource protection and inclusiveness, and blue economy reports increasingly track economic effects and trends in greater detail. However, the difference between strategy and reality is often seen precisely in local examples: where the interests of tourism, infrastructure, local residents, and ecology collide.
If the program in Lombardy is truly implemented, its real criteria will be visible in two things: in the data (what is measured and what is published) and in continuity (what happens after the first wave of media attention). In the best-case scenario, the certification of Lake Como and Lake Garda could become an incentive for a broader package of measures: stricter control of waste from boats, investments in treatment, standards for tourism operators, visitor education, and systematic monitoring of pollution. Otherwise, the label could be reduced to a short-lived marketing add-on that does not change the ecological picture, and that is precisely the risk also highlighted by critical reviews from parts of the media.
Sources:- European Commission (DG MARE) – explanation of the concept of the sustainable blue economy (link)- Publications Office of the EU / European Commission – “The EU Blue Economy Report 2025” (official publication and PDF) (link)- OACM – description of the program and focus on oceans, lakes, and rivers (link)- OACM – White Flag International and the definition of CSMA/“SAFE” areas (link)- White Flag International – overview of the initiative and examples of awards (“award”) (link)- ScienceDirect – research on micropollutants in Lake Como (pharmaceutical traces as indicators) (link)- MDPI – seasonal monitoring of plastic and microplastic in the northern part of Lake Garda (link)- CINEA (European Commission) – LIFE BLUE LAKES project and findings on microplastic in systems linked to Lake Garda (link)- MDPI – overview of the challenges of managing inland waters in Lombardy (pollution and hydropower potential) (link)- The Shift News – critical review of White Flag/OACM promotions and activities (context of credibility debates) (link)
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