National Parks
Protected areas have been set up on the territory in order to preserve natural spaces and terrestrial and marine ecosystems. They are divided into national parks, regional nature parks and nature reserves.
Pollino National Park : located between Calabria and Basilicate, on the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas, this is the country's largest national park. It protects the Bosnian pine, the territory's emblem, and its mountains (Apennines) are home to wolves and a wide variety of birds
Aspromonte National Park: located in Calabria, in the southern Apennines, it protects remarkable ecosystems of forests and scrubland and will delight hiking enthusiasts with its beautiful landscapes.
Sila National Park : located in Calabria, it is made up of the Sila high plateau (1,300 metres above sea level). The territory is crossed by rivers and has three artificial lakes. It has hiking trails and is home to a wide variety of environments and species, including magnificent coniferous forests (Laricio pines in the Forest of the Giants) and deciduous forests.
Lucanian Apennines - Val d'Agri-Lagonegrese National Park : located in Basilicate, this park was created in 2007 and forms part of an ecological continuum with other protected areas (Pollino National Park and Cilento National Park in Campania). A mountain territory, it is home to a wide variety of ecosystems: forests, meadows and pastures.
Gargano National Park : located in Puglia, on a mountainous peninsula bordering the Adriatic Sea, it protects ecosystems and landscapes of great diversity, both marine and terrestrial. It includes the marine reserve of the Tremiti Islands and is home to remarkable forests, including the ancient forest of Foresta Umbra, lakes and lagoons, limestone plateaus and cliffs, which are the habitat of many bird species.
Alta Murgia National Park: located in Puglia, it protects a remarkable natural and cultural heritage. From a geological point of view, the park preserves vast karstic chasms (dolines) and the Gravina canyon, shaped by erosion. The biodiversity of the territory is rich, especially in the dry meadows. The vernacular architecture is harmoniously integrated into the landscape.
A vulnerable territory, weakened by human activities
Subject to natural risks (earthquakes, floods, droughts), the territory is made more vulnerable by human activities. Conventional agriculture has contributed to deforestation, erosion and soil pollution through the use of pesticides. Industrial emissions have contributed to the contamination of the environment, with sometimes significant health impacts, such as a number of cancers higher than the national average ( Tarantoiron and steel complex) and significantCO2 emissions ( Brindisi coal-fired power station). The development of tourism contributes to the artificialisation of the land, to the emission of greenhouse gases linked to transport, to the consumption of resources and to the production of waste. The territory also suffers from the heavy ecological liabilities linked to the illegal dumping of toxic waste.
Pollution of the sea with plastic, toxic and radioactive waste
The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most polluted in the world. Plastic pollution is particularly worrying. According to a study published by the University of Barcelona in 2021, the Strait of Messina, between Sicily and Calabria, is the marine area with the highest density of waste in the world, with more than one million pieces of waste per square metre in some places. This alarming fact is compounded by the legacy left by the mafia at the end of the last century. In the 1990s, the Calabrian mafia ('Ndrangheta) operated a toxic waste trade. Ships containing drums of radioactive waste from other countries (including Norway and the Netherlands) were sunk off Calabria. More than 180 boats are reported to have suffered the same fate, with serious environmental and health consequences.
The territory facing climate change
Southern Italy is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The phenomenon leads to a greater intensity and frequency of extreme events, such as droughts, floods and tornadoes, threatening both crops and people. The cultivation of tomatoes, an emblematic crop in Italy, has seen its yields drop year after year in the Puglia plain as a result of droughts. In June 2021, the president of the Puglia region banned work in the fields between 12:30 and 4pm when heat levels pose a high risk, a measure that follows the deaths of two young people. Solutions are being put in place, such as adapting to climate change through agricultural practices that respect people and the environment. Agroecology is developing. In Calabria, land confiscated from the mafia is being used, thanks to Law 109, for social and solidarity purposes, by agricultural cooperatives that grow organic produce (olives, vegetables, citrus fruits) and that employ declared and fairly paid workers. Wind and solar farms have also been set up in these southern regions of the peninsula.
Travelling slowly
Southern Italy is accessible by train, boat, bike and on foot via routes that cross the peninsula (EuroVelo 5, Via Francigena). The Slow Food movement promotes "clean, fair and good" food. Don't hesitate to meet its members, in order to reconcile the pleasure of the taste buds with respect for the living(www.slowfood.it). The agriturismo network brings together organic farms that welcome visitors(www.agriturismo.it/fr/). Because the least polluting waste is that which is not produced, we can be inspired by the "zero waste" approach and a certain sobriety in the consumption and use of resources, which also rhymes with authenticity. To measure your carbon footprint: take the test with the ADEME simulator: https: //nosgestesclimat.fr/simulateur/bilan
