The first in-depth webinars dedicated to the status and management of the Natura 2000 network of marine sites in Italy and Spain were held on December 19-20, 2022. The meetings were organized by Federparchi and Fundación Biodeversidad with contributions from Lipu, Ispra, Capitaneria di Porto, and co-financing NPs.
The first session, devoted to the number of N2000 marine sites, their location and possible overlap with protected areas, the difficulty of designation, and the accessibility of data and information, featured Víctor Gutierrez and Ana Iñigo (Fundación Biodiversidad) who described the Spanish situation, Claudio Celada (Lipu) who also reported the example of some conservation projects dedicated to marine avifauna in N2000 sites, Leonardo Tunesi (Ispra) who spoke about the importance of monitoring, and, finally, Emiliano Santocchini, Captain of the Marine Environmental Department of the Port Authority Corps, who instead focused on the issue of surveillance.
The following day, however, there was a more detailed discussion on current management plans, already drafted or under implementation, overlapping with other marine planning tools, with particular reference to the Marine Areas co-financing the project. Ilaria Lavarello official of the PN of the Cinque Terre, Vittorio Gazale director of the PN of Asinara and Francesca Giannini responsible for the PN of the Tuscan Archipelago then spoke. This was followed by Antonino Miccio, director of the MPA Regno di Nettuno, who presented a more general excursus on the status and management of Marine Protected Areas in Italy. In conclusion, Ana Iñigo and Víctor Gutierrez (Fundación Biodiversidad) spoke about the Spanish experience regarding the governance of N2000 marine sites and, in detail, the INTEMARES project.
At the conclusion of the meeting, it emerged, ever more strongly, the importance of making N2000 marine sites better known and promoted to the general public in order to foster greater awareness of these areas and thus increase responsibility, care and protection of the environments.
The next capacity building events will be dedicated to communication and will be organized by Lipu and Triton Research.