Italy and its Protected Areas

 


Italy presents a highly diversified and complex network of protected areas which cover around 21.5% of terrestrial territory and 8.8% of marine territory (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2023).
Nonetheless, these areas are continuously reported as lacking of appropriate financing which leads to poor management plans resulting with the inability to protect the areas from illegal activities, such as pastures, tourism or fishing (WWF Italia 2018). 

During an investigation by WWF Italia in 2018 where protected areas personnel itself responded to a survey exploring the current status of Italian Protected Areas, respondents highlighted some key points of development regarding risks and opportunities (WWF Italia 2018). 
First of all, the main threat for Italian Protected Areas, especially Marine territories, is identified with Climate Change as the leading problem, followed by littering, naval traffic, illegal fishing or poaching and invasion of alien species (WWF Italia 2018). 
To regard of the latter, protected areas declare a very low monitoring of such issue which is a result of the insufficient presence of coherent management plans to support with actionable steps the settlement of such alien species (WWF Italia 2018). 
In terms of management and its ability to implement appropriate monitoring and conservation measure, the Protected Areas managed by the Parks' organization itself or the municipalities present the lowest efficiencies, whereas those managed by Consortium, which is an agglomerate of regional and national institutions, present the best results (WWF Italia 2018). 
On the other side, it is reported that there exists a good collaboration with the local communities and stakeholders as well as the involvement of experts through focus groups, workshops and individual consultations (WWF Italia 2018). Notwithstanding, recreative fishing causes some conflicts between the personnel of PAs and locals as people perceive it as limiting long standing traditions (WWF Italia 2018).

Overall, Italy's main focus should be on developing efficient management tools for its territory, which, given the abundant of environmental resources, would support in reconciling the economic development of protected areas with its touristic, recreative and traditional functions. This is only viable through the allocation of appropriate financing from the government which is foreseen as the most accessible source of financing (WWF Italia 2018).

With regard specifically to Marine Protected Areas, Italy is facing big challenges in terms of specifically littering, fishing and tourism (WWF Italia 2018). The Mediterranean Sea represents a great source of resources for all countries around it and thus I believe that it should be a key focus for Italy to protect its marine territories also for the benefit of all neighbouring territories and vice versa. As a result, the Italian Ministry of Environment Land Use and Sea (IMELS) already signed a Bilateral Cooperation Agreement with the UN Environment called Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) - Barcelona Convention Secretariat. A component of this Agreement is the Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI) management which consists in twinning together Mediterranean countries' Marine Protected Areas in order to create a focus on sharing of management and monitoring knowledge (UN Environment 2019). This led to an increase in the marine area covered by conservation measures (MPAs and OECMs) from 4.5% in 2012 to 8.97% of the Mediterranean Sea surface (UN Environment 2019).
Nonetheless, the management status of protected areas remains the weakest point of development with only an estimated 10% of the sites declaring a proper implementation of a management plan (UN Environment 2019).

To this regard, I would like to suggest a more in depth analysis of all island territories and related marine area in order to assess the potential new protected areas which would in result deliver the highest yield for biodiversity in the whole Mediterranean region. As it looks like right now, the two main Italian islands do not report many protected areas and the increase of such would lead both to an increased environmental conservation but as well a protection of the local heritage and traditions which characterizes these regions in particular.
Moreover, considering the above example of SPAMI sites, I believe it would be beneficial a twinning agreement as well for bordering mountain areas, such as the Italian Alps, with the neighbouring countries of Switzerland, Austria or France in order to achieve the most equal and just management of the region and ensure the provision of the needed resources.


References:

UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, (2023), Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), [online], Cambridge, UK, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. Available at: www.protectedplanet.net

Italy, Biodiversity Information System for Europe, [online], European Commission and European Environment Agency, Available at: https://biodiversity.europa.eu/countries/italy

Le Meraviglie delle Aree Protette a casa, [online], Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica, Available at: https://www.mase.gov.it/aree-protette

IUCN, Green List: Italy, [online], Available at: https://iucngreenlist.org/country/italy/

IUCN Press Release, (2022), 16 protected and conserved areas in China, France, Mexico, Peru and Zambia achieve IUCN Green List Status, IUCN, [online], Available at: https://www.iucn.org/press-release/202212/16-protected-and-conserved-areas-china-france-mexico-peru-and-zambia-achieve#:~:text=With%20that%20addition%2C%20France%20remains,Conservation%20Action%20Director%2C%20Trevor%20Sandwith

Convention on Biological Diversity, 6th National Report for the Convention on Biological Diversity: Italy, (2019), UN Environment

Check-Up Aree Marine Protette - Report sulla valutazione dell’efficacia di gestione tramite metodo RAPPAM, (2018), WWF Italia

Italy supports the effective management of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance, (2019), [online], UN Environment Program, Available at: https://www.unep.org/unepmap/news/news/italy-supports-effective-management-specially-protected-areas-mediterranean-importance


Commenti

Posta un commento

Post popolari in questo blog

Umbrella Species as a Conservation Practice: Benefits and Limitations

Immagine
An umbrella species in the context of ecology and biodiversity is defined by the Oxford Reference as "a species of plant or animal that has a large home range and broad habitat requirements, both of which overlap with other species, so that if it is given a large enough area for its own protection the other species will also benefit" (Park 2012). They represent a shortcut for the maintenance of biodiversity considering the consistent limitations on finance, knowledge and time for action (Roberge 2004). However, the adoption of umbrella species as conservation practice is equivocal based on the empirical data of its effectiveness (Thornton 2016).  This tool is useful in determining the minimum size for conservation areas, selecting the sites to be included in reserve networks and setting minimum standards for composition and processes of ecosystems (Roberge 2004).  When charismatic umbrella species are selected, they can also become a representative surrogate for sympatric spe...
Continua a leggere

Just Transitions for Energy and Climate

Immagine
Even though the line of energy development is often considered a linear conventional transition towards an increasingly more technological future, this worldview omits the factors of uncertainty , human behaviour, cultural differences and diverse societal norms all together which sometimes lead to a more complex relationship between prosperity and sustainability (Jasanoff 2018). Moreover, the identification of self bias by academic communities with regard to dynamic or uncertain scientific aspects in nowadays model making, such as diverse background, values and beliefs, would allow a more perceptive and aware utilization and/or development of new and/or existing technologies (Jasanoff 2018). "That reflexivity could become the doorway to a Second Enlightenment, a stage of self-awareness in which we deploy both our knowledge and our doubts more wisely" (Jasanoff 2018). The disparity of local scales of governance along with the development efforts needed for downscaling national...
Continua a leggere