Last update: 03/08/2004
Parks and protected areas
In our country, protection and development of natural resources
is carried out mainly through the establishment of
Protected Natural Areas and the various activities that are
proposed and implemented within them.
The term “Protected Areas” includes a wide range of
territories (land and sea environments, planes and mountains,
etc.), dimensions (from a few hectares to hundreds of thousands),
objectives (conservation of species and habitats, monitoring,
recovery, creation of ecological corridors, genetic recovery,
genetic reserves, etc.), allowed activities (from total protection
to constant human action), administrations (Public Protected Areas
such as National Parks, Regional and Inter-regional Parks,
Reserves, etc.) and private protected areas (oases, gardens,
private parks, zoos, etc.).
The law on Protected Areas (no. 394/91), adopted in Italy in 1991,
provided the establishment of new National Parks in addition
to the 5 historical ones (Abbruzzo National Park, Gran Paradiso
National Park, Stelvio National Park, Circeo National Park and
Pollino National Park).
According to the most recent Official List (2003) supplied by the
Ministry for the Environment and Territorial Protection, Italy
hosts 772 public Protected Areas. In addition to these are private
areas, Sites of Community Importance (SCI), which were proposed
according to criteria contained in “Habitat” Directive
no. 92/43/EEC, and Special Protection Areas (SPAs), identified on
the basis of the Birds Directive no. 79/409/EEC.
In these areas, apart from studying and protecting
ecosystems’ natural valences and balances, it is equally
important to carry out activities of scientific research, teaching
and recreation. The duty of trying to reconcile protection of
nature with human needs is closely related to these. For this
reason, Protected Areas are very frequently used as a promotional
tool for sustainable social and economic development. For all these
reasons, the Parks, Ecosystems and Biodiversity Service (NAT-BIO)
of APAT’s Department for the Protection of Nature considers
bodies in charge of managing Protected Areas as valid interlocutors
in planning its activities.
