Events and News

Beyond economic growth for the protection of biodiversity and food resilience

An article published in 2021 by the European Environment Agency (EEA), entitled "Growth without economic growth" will be the focus of a seminar that ISPRA organizes for November 5, 2021. The article, published in Narratives for Change, a series of analyzes and prospective studies on the factors of change and transition, to explore alternative ideas on growth and progress, with the aim of broadening the debate on sustainability.

Successful release of 5 Egyptian vultures

On 20 August 2021 five young Egyptian vultures were released in the Murgia Materana Regional Park as part of the  LIFE Egyptian vulture project to support the small Italian population of this small migratory vulture, which has come to the brink of extinction.

Fixed Line Transect Mediterranean monitoring Network - FLT Med Net. The long-term international agreement for the monitoring of marine macrofauna and the main threats deriving from maritime traffic and marine litter has been renewed

ISPRA and fourteen Research Institutions of the Mediterranean Area just signed the new triennial Agreement for continuous standard monitoring of cetaceans, sea turtle, other macro fauna and main threats (FLT Med Net, 2021 – 2024). The Agreement renew a long-term free of charge collaboration which started in 2007, when ISPRA (ex APAT) set off a sustainable approach for gathering long term data on marine macro fauna and two of their main threats (influence of maritime traffic, exposure risk by Floating marine macro litter) using ferries as platform of research. Since then, the approach was developed and shared within a growing international network of Universities and Research Institutions from five Mediterranean countries.

The wolf behind the house

Between 2020 and 2021, thanks to the activities of the National Wolf Monitoring, coordinated by ISPRA, a small portion of the Monte Pisano massif was subjected to investigation, thanks also to the contribution of local associations that provided personnel with knowledge of the area.

European Maritime Forum

The event aims to present the Blue Economy and in particular its target sectors such as: fishing and aquaculture, tourism, logistics and transport, renewable energy will therefore be the main assets, always with the aim of tending towards processes of approach to sustainability and circularity.

Birdwatching days in the Delta del Po

Projects and actions for the conservation, relaunch and promotion of the Delta Po nature
A programmatic discussion on the Emilia-Romagna Po Delta area and its extraordinary ornithological, naturalistic and fruition values, with the newly updated version of the dossier The occasion of the Delta produced by Lipu, with ideas, issues and possible projects. Objective: to start the work for an operational program  of the Delta of Po nature, also in light of the historical moment which is in many ways particularly propitious, in order to give this extraordinary place the future it deserves.

The return of the wolf and the future of large predators in Europe

In recent years, numerous studies have analyzed the increase of the wolf population in the Italian peninsula and its return to the Alps.
The Bioparco Foundation of Rome and the Embassy of Switzerland in Italy will organize a scientific conference with leading Swiss and Italian experts on the subject. The purpose of the conference will be to share the experiences and results of national and cross-border research on the wolf and its return.

Launch of an external review of the draft of the document "Nature futures framework and methodological guidance"

IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Plaftorm on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) has announced the launch of an external review of the draft of the "Nature futures framework and methodological guidance" document.

NET SCIENCE TOGETHER: Scientists for a day!

Around the ISPRA laboratories alongside researchers who study and protect the sea
ISPRA with the National Research Council - Institute for BioEconomy, thanks to a partnership that "unites and unites" most of the scientific research of Livorno, organizes the European Night of Researchers and Researchers, in collaboration with: Interuniversity Center of Marine Biology and Applied Ecology - CIBM, Aplysia, Harbor Master's Office, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and LaMMA Consortium and with the involvement of institutions and stakeholders of the city.

NET SCIENZAINSIEME brings you aboard the Astrea ship

Also this year NET Scienza Insieme virtually brings the public into their research facilities. After the Castel Romano Laboratories, board the Astrea, the research vessel of ISPRA.
In this virtual visit  will be possible to learn about the main research activities of the Institute on the marine environment and its ecosystems, carried out during the campaigns at sea, thanks to professionalism and cutting-edge technological tools, described by short videos that will accompany the virtual visit.

Welcome on board of the Astrea ship

The best practice green

The third edition of the event "The best practice green" will take place on 24 and 25 September 2021, where Italian and foreign entrepreneurs and institutional representatives meet. The focus of the event, dedicated to "trees and landscape", emphasizes the issues of economic development from the point of view of green and environmental operators. The 2021 edition also sees the involvement of the students of the II level Master of the University of Perugia "Management of the works of environmental protection of the green".

ISPRA is launching the new comics of the INDICT project on the "Carrie" sea turtle at the European Researchers' Night

The protection of the marine environment and its biodiversity, the threats of pollution and waste at sea are the central theme of the new comic developed by ISPRA within the exhibition for the INDICIT project.
The sea turtle Carrie is the protagonist of a new story, the adventure of a courageous creature and the dangers it encounters among abandoned plastic and microplastic nets.
The comic will be exhibited for the first time at the European Researchers' Night on 24 and 25 September at the Città dell'Altra Economia in Rome as part of the NET ScienzaInsieme project.

The ecological beach of Favignana for environmental protection and conscious tourism

The entire initiative is organized in collaboration with the Aegadian Islands Protected Marine Area and is part of the MED Dé.Co.U. Plages project co-financed under the IEV CT Italy-Tunisia 2014-2020 European program which aims to create the conditions for greater protection of the environment in coastal territories.
A full calendar of events and activities that will take place mainly on the beach of Praia and at the bathhouse plant of the Tonnare di Favignana and Formica.
These include circular economy initiatives and Citizen Science which will involve tourists, fishermen and local businesses / artisans as well as the inevitable environmental education activities to raise awareness of young and old on environmental issues.

Marine alien species: which of these have you ever observed or fished?

The booklet, produced by ISPRA, provides support to sea operators and users for the recognition of alien species observable and fishable in our seas, including some dangerous for human health as toxic to consumption or poisonous to contact.

NET - SCIENZA TOGETHER: Tor Caldara: an itinerary between geology, environment and history

The Tor Caldara Nature Reserve extends for 44 hectares in a non-urbanized stretch of coast between Anzio and Lavinio, 60 km south of Rome. Inside there is a sixteenth-century watchtower placed in a dense tangle of Mediterranean scrub, a rare testimony of the ancient coastal forests along the coast of southern Lazio. From a geological point of view, the Tor Caldara solfatara is linked to the secondary activity of the Lazio volcanic district

Wetland management, restoration and conservation as a key to fighting desertification

The main topic of the conference will be the role of wetlands as a key to the fight against desertification and the geographical and geomorphological modification of previously fertile areas

Welcome back Perdix perdix italica!

In the Zone Special Protection of Valle del Mezzano (FE), the reintroduction of individuals of Italian gray partridge has begun, until now considered extinct in the wild.

Alien species of the Mediterranean sea: be aware of them

ISPRA and the Ventotene and S. Stefano Islands Marine Protected Area have launched a pilot activity for the monitoring of marine alien species.
In order to provide support to operators and users of the sea for the recognition of the main alien species potentially observable and fishable in our seas, including some dangerous for human health, an informative brochure has been created to recognize and report them.

The virtual photo exhibition of INDICIT I and II is now online!

In the frame of INDICIT II project was realized exhibition photo virtual developed by ISPRA to allow also during the pandemic to be able to disseminate the activities and results of the two projects financed by DG Environment. The photo exhibition highlights the impact of plastic pollution in marine animals and the activities of researchers

NET scientific aperitif - Our green gold: urban forests in the city of the future?

Cities are where business is concentrated and half of the world's population lives with further growth prospects. Urban areas therefore have a high impact on environmental quality. Solutions based on the functioning of ecosystems are a tool for sustainable land management, to address in an integrated way the environmental and social problems caused by global and climatic changes in progress. By assessing the impact of land consumption on ecosystem services provided by vegetation, the problems and solutions that the synergy between research and active citizenship can find to future challenges will be analyzed.

New EU Forest Strategy : planting three billion additional trees across Europe by 2030

As a flagship initiative of the European Green Deal, the European Commission has recently adopted the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030.

Howlings in the night

During the summer, wolf cubs are moved by their parents from their den to open places, the rendezvous sites. With the wolf howling technique, the response of the puppies is stimulated to evaluate if the breeding has occurred in the herds and then locate them.

Migrations in the Mediterranean as an effect of climate change and the decline of nature

The connectionss between climate change, loss of biodiversity and migration are among the most dramatic aspects of the planet's climate crisis. The political, economic and social consequences of the effects of global warming are at the center of public debate. An in-depth study on the impacts of the climate, in particular on the African continent, between desertification and the destruction of agricultural and water resources, as an engine for mass migration to Europe, will be the subject of discussion and debate between researchers and the public.

Marine strategy: the pre-survey activity for the development of a "Metabarcoding eDNA" analysis protocol was completed in Trieste

This week, the pre-survey activity for the development of a "Metabarcoding eDNA" analysis protocol was included in the port of Trieste as part of a pilot monitoring activity for the Marine Strategy - Descriptor 2_Non-indigenous species, which sees the collaboration between ISPRA, the Polytechnic University of Marche and the regional agencies. The activity will make it possible to identify the taxonomic composition of animal and plant species in port areas, also identifying the presence of non-indigenous species and may constitute an important investigation tool for the early warning system.

Environmental statistics for cohesion policies 2014-2020

Since May 2018 ISPRA has been a beneficiary of the project aimed at expanding the set of territorial indicators today released by public statistics on the environment, satisfying on the one hand the new international information requests (for example SDG indicators )and at the same time aligning the availability of data and indicators to the information needs of policy makers.

Greencity in Palermo

In Palermo, the second stage of Verdecittà's "journey" through Italy, the innovative project that promotes urban greenery to improve the quality of life and the excellence of Made in Italy horticulture: the initiative is funded by the Ministry for Policies food and forestry (MiPAAF), coordinated by CREA and organized by Padova Hall, with the technical-scientific support of CONAF.
In the Sicilian capital, from 25 to 27 June, an impressive installation curated by CONAF's expert technicians in Piazza Castelnuovo will show how urban greenery can lend itself to multiple solutions, keeping together the quality and beauty of spaces, agriculture, aromatic plants.

When biodiversity meets public health: controlling diseases vectors

An event of the European Development Days on biodiversity and health will be held on Wednesday 16 June at 3.10 pm: "When biodiversity meets public health: controlling diseases vectors".
The issue is particularly sensitive, because the possible use of the gene drive to fight mosquitoes that transmit malaria in Africa will be discussed with representatives of local communities, research and gene drive experts.
The event is organized by Imperial College London, Malaria No More, Target Malaria, Ifakara Health Institute and Speak Up Africa.

27th plenary meeting of the European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies

From 16 to 17 June it will be held the 27th plenary meeting of the European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies
Plenary sessions are held twice a year and are hosted by agencies of ENCA member countries. At plenary meetings, agencies are normally represented by their director, although representatives with delegated powers can also participate to express positions and make decisions.

The animals assembly

Saturday 12 June, live online on the Youtube channel of the Antivivisection League, there will be a day of discussion on the cause and effect relationship - which emerged in the eyes of all with the disastrous spread of the Coronavirus - between food, animals and the future of the Planet.

Third Community Forum - Ecotourism in the Mezzano Valley, a possible scenario?

The Valle del Mezzano, in the Po Delta of Emilia-Romagna, is the area chosen for the main objective of the Life Perdix project, that is the reintroduction of the Italian Gray Partridge (Perdix perdix italica), a species considered extinct until recently.