Outlined the main activities carried out: dissemination, participation, citizen science and photo contest

Discovering the wealth of biodiversity and enhancing the marine sites of the European Natura2000 Network, these are the objectives of the Life A-MAR NATURA2000 project, of which Federparchi is the lead partner, whose actions were illustrated at the Federparchi Members’ Assembly held on April 28th in Rome in mixed mode, presence and videoconference. Assembly participants were also able to admire the exhibition on the project’s activities titled “Conservation Waves: stories of nature and community,” set up at the Carte Geografiche Congress Center where the meeting was held.

The Life A-MAR project is heading toward its last phase with an important baggage of participatory events and actions aimed at discovering and safeguarding protected marine sites and their extraordinary ecosystems. Focus of the initiatives was, in fact, the participation and sharing of activities with all those who interact with the marine sites of the NATURA2000 Network – fishermen, tour operators, educators – and trying to involve as many people as possible to raise awareness concerning the world of protected marine sites.

The exhibition traces the most significant moments of the project showing many pictures of the actions and protagonists.

We start with Action B1, the awareness and engagement campaign to promote NATURA2000 marine sites, with some shots from the sailing campaign that took place in 2023 in the Tyrrhenian Sea and touched more than 50 marine sites on the coasts of Liguria, Sicily, Sardinia, Tuscany, Lazio and Campania. In conjunction with the stops, Federparchi and LIPU involved hundreds of stakeholders in an onshore awareness campaign that saw, as shown in some of the images, the organization of 17 participatory events and 14 guided tours to promote among all “sea users” a conscious and responsible enjoyment of marine natural resources.

The project’s B2 action is explained with some photos related to Citizen science activities, among them the dives to discover marine biodiversity in the seabed of the Tuscan Archipelago and Argentario, as well as those of the 2024 “Good Practices” Competition that awarded sustainable artisanal fishing cooperatives and entrepreneurial entities engaged in environmental education and sustainable tourism.

The images also tell about the D1 action related to the dissemination of the project that resulted in the “Life Above and Below the Sea” Photo Contest, with wonderful and exciting shots of both landscapes and marine species, on the surface and underwater.