On Monday 15 May at 11.00, at the Navy Officers’ Club of La Spezia, the press conference will be held for the launch of the sailing campaign in Italy as part of the LIFE A-MAR NATURA2000 Project (LIFE20 GIE/IT/001352) aimed at to the enhancement of marine sites protected by the European Union, led by Federparchi-Europarc Italia with the participation of Triton Research, Lipu and Fundación Biodiversidad and three co-financing national parks: Cinque Terre, Arcipelago Toscano and Asinara.

The sailing campaign, carried out with the support of the Italian Naval League, will be divided into six weeks, from 15 May to 28 June, and will be developed in five regions, Liguria, Sicily (western and eastern), Tuscany, northern Sardinia and Lazio, touching over 30 most significant marine sites from a naturalistic point of view. The boats, entrusted by the judicial authority to the Italian Naval League and made available together with the crews formed by members of the LNI, come from seizures from organized crime and, in this way, return to “new life” offering an active and social contribution to the population. The sailing tour will be accompanied by participatory meetings and events for the dissemination and knowledge of the marine sites of the Natura 2000 Network organized by Federparchi and Lipu; all in collaboration with the bodies managing the Natura 2000 marine sites: 14 guided tours, 12 participatory meetings, 2 press conferences, 5 appointments for local managers and tour operators.

After the institutional greetings, which see the presence, among others, of the president of the Regional Council Gianmarco Medusei and the deputy mayor of La Spezia Maria Grazia Frijia, the Adm. Donato Marzano, president of the Italian Naval League, to underline the importance of protecting the sea and its habitats, at the heart of the LNI mission and the theme underlying LIFE A-MAR NATURA2000. Afterwards, Alessandro Violi, president of Triton Research, will get to the heart of the project by illustrating the objectives and stages of the sailing campaign, while Aldo Verner, president of Lipu, will talk in detail about the events on land, aimed at the public, which will accompany the activity at sea. Emanuele Moggia, Vice-President of the Cinque Terre NP, co-financer of the project, will instead speak on the experience of the institution and on the management and peculiarities of the marine area. The conclusions will be entrusted to Luca Santini, president of Federparchi-Europarc Italia.

This will be followed by the departure of the boat from the neighboring Sailing Section of the Navy.

More details on the LIFE A-MAR NATURA2000 project, on the stages and on the events that will support the sailing campaign, will be illustrated during the press conference. Photographic and video material of the Fondali Punta Mesco – Riomaggiore marine site which falls within the Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area will be made available to journalists.