National Parks
Cinque Terre National Park: located between the Riviera del Levant and the Cinque Terre coast, the park, classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site, protects a wild and cultivated biodiversity. It is home to ancestral agricultural landscapes: dry stone terraces, vineyards and olive groves.
The villages of the park are accessible by train from Genoa, with ecotourism opportunities developed around a label of environmental quality: the Marchio di Qualità Ambientale (MQA).
Cetacean Sanctuary: cross-border marine protected area, between France and Italy, dedicated to the protection of cetaceans.
Fight against pollution
In terms of selective collection of household waste, progress has been made in the region. Efforts remain to be made, particularly with regard to bio-waste (collection and treatment facilities). The Mediterranean, which constitutes 1% of the world's marine waters, concentrates 7% of plastic pollution (source: WWF). Most of this pollution is invisible to the naked eye (plastics in the form of nano- and micro-particles) and comes from aqueous effluents. The NGOs Legambiente and Zerowaste lead campaigns and actions on the subject: www.legambienteliguria.org. As an individual, it is also possible to take a zero waste approach: www.zerowasteitaly.org.
Facing climate change
The Mediterranean and Liguria are particularly exposed to climate change. The Mediterranean is a hot spot for biodiversity and is also one of the world's hot spots for climate change, warming up on average 20% faster than the rest of the world. Rising temperatures (with a tropicalization of the climate locally) could worsen the intensity and frequency of extreme events, including flooding, as highlighted in a study published in 2019 by the Amsterdam Institute of Science. In particular, Liguria experienced deadly floods in October 2020. The obsolescence and lack of maintenance of infrastructure, combined with the impacts of various anthropogenic activities, including tourism, increase the vulnerability of the territory. Climate change is also causing the acidification of the seas, which has deleterious effects on plankton, an essential link in the food chain. Droughts and floods have an impact on agricultural production, which makes the issue of food resilience a major one.
Pioneers of organic agriculture
The Val Di Vara is an example of a resilient territory, which made the choice, in 2004, to convert all its agriculture to organic production. Today, the model is proving to be a success both agriculturally, environmentally and economically. The instigator of this ambitious project was the municipal team of Varese.
Travel slowly
The area is accessible by train, boat, bicycle and on foot. Among the pedestrian itineraries, the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri, a 442 km trail that connects Ceparana to Ventimiglia (with sections accessible by mountain bike), is worth mentioning.
As far as food is concerned, do not hesitate to contact the members of the Slowfood movement, which aims to promote "healthy, clean and fair" food, to defend food biodiversity and a whole philosophy linked to the pleasure of food (see: slowfood.it). The Agriturismo network includes organic farms that welcome visitors (for more information: www.agriturismo.it/fr).
