Field activities under the Revive Interreg Italy-Malta project have commenced

ISPRA has begun field activities in the Gulf of Castellammare, where monitoring of stranded marine litter was carried out in accordance with the protocols of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Over 800 pieces of litter were cataloged and collected along 100 meters of beach. The next activity in this area is scheduled for spring.

The REVIVE Research Project aims to define effective intervention measures in the Italy-Malta cross-border area, with the goal of conserving biodiversity and restoring priority habitats, including sites within the Natura 2000 Network.

The project includes: the assessment of the status of habitats of interest (vermetid reefs, seagrass meadows), with a focus on the role of Invasive Alien Species and marine litter; passive and active restoration interventions based on the use of substrates or artificial structures to promote habitat recovery; and monitoring the effectiveness of these interventions. This monitoring will integrate traditional methods (such as visual censuses and scraping) with recently applied innovative techniques, such as eDNA metabarcoding. Furthermore, the role of floating marine litter in the transport of Invasive Alien Species within the study areas will be evaluated.