Implementation of the NBS is in line with EU policies dealing with biodiversity, and with the EU Biodiversity Strategy, whose targets are also consistent with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Furthermore, 50 Italian sites have been recognized as internationally relevant wetlands worth to be included in the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands' list. Overall, ecosystems are moving northwards and upwards (above sea level): about 100 km northward and 150 metres upwards per each 1°C rise in yearly average temperature. This rich biodiversity is in large part due to its range of biogeographic regions, which are the Alpine region, the Continental region and the Mediterranean region, providing differences in climate, topography and geology... More ». 0000003241 00000 n Plants convert energy from the sun making it available to other life forms. Marine biodiversity loss hinders the ocean’s ability to provide food for our growing population, ... France and Italy in the past 14 years. (2009), in: Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea of Italy (2009), Wolf and Menne (2007), in: Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea of Italy (2009), Barnett et al. endobj A negative impact of acidification on the functioning of coastal Mediterranean bivalves bivalves was shown for the Northern Adriatic (17). The adaptation capacity of natural systems to climate change will have to be strengthened through the adoption of adaptation measures promoting: For marine ecosystems action for a sustainable management of marine resources and for the development of sustainable fishing is needed.
Biodiversity loss also threatens the structure and proper functioning of the ecosystem. Without ambitious mitigation policies anthropogenic climate change will likely alter ecosystems in the Mediterranean this century in a way that is without precedent during the past 10,000 years. It occupies about 10 millions of hectares (30% of … Such movements represent a potential danger to Italy due to its orographical features and to temporal incompatibility between the movements of the ecosystems and climate change (2). It helps us fight climate change and adapt to it as well reduce the impact of natural hazards. What are the causes and why does biodiversity matter? Changes in environmental conditions, particularly river discharges, influence the recruitment of anchovy (the most caught commercial species) in the northern and central Adriatic (20). It occupies about 10 millions of hectares (30% of national area) and represents 5% of total European forested area. Given the heterogeniety in watershed types, strategies need to incorporate local needs and issues with active participation of all stakeholders. Climate model projections indicate that the projected warming in the Mediterranean basin this century continues to exceed the global trend. trailer It comprises the number of species, their genetic variation and the interaction of these lifeforms within complex ecosystems. (2010); Giani et al. The presidents of the United States, Brazil, China, and Australia have not signed the pledge.
The highly ambitious low-end scenario of climate change (the so-called RCP2.6 scenario) seems to be the only possible pathway toward more limited impacts. For example, the UK pledged today to protect 30% of its land in order to stop wildlife loss by 2030. In May 2020, the European Commission released the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030.
<]>> xref It takes millions of years for ecosystems to recover from such an event. MEPs are calling for legally binding targets both locally and globally, in order to encourage more ambitious measures to ensure the conservation and the restoration of biodiversity. The Italian forests are very important for the landscape, the biodiversity, the balance of the environment, and for the economy. 0000051308 00000 n 0000004208 00000 n Most importantly, the hybrid model results consistently caution against drawing overoptimistic conclusions from relatively modest range contractions observed during the coming decades, as these are likely to mask more severe longer-term warming effects on mountain plant distribution (14). World leaders, including the entire European Union, have committed to reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 in a 10-point pledge. Habitat loss and fragmentation, unsustainable agriculture and climate change are leading drivers of biodiversity loss in the EU.
On the other hand, the projected rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration, leading to increased dissolved CO2 concentration in marine water and to consequent acidification, will probably drastically alter marine ecosystems in the Mediterranean and cause a decline of marine biodiversity. As a result of the apparent `low' biodiversity, and minimal knowledge regarding the distribution of alpine aquatic species, glacier-fed rivers have received negligible attention from conservationists (10).
In Italy, legislation is the basis for many projects and actions for biodiversity conservation. The persistence of such remnant populations creates an extinction debt that will have to be paid later unless species manage to adapt phenotypically or genetically to the changing climate (15) and to the likely associated alterations in their biotic environments (16).
Many of these effects are likely to become even stronger in the future because of the expanding human population and economic activity. changes in population size and distribution, with replacement of local Mediterranean marine fauna and spreading of invasive species, such as some tropical species of algae; mass mortality events of invertebrates (5); mucilage outbreaks, potentially associated with increased outbreaks of marine diseases; phenology changes, northward movements and development of invasive alien species, leading to reduced species richness, which could represent a special vulnerability in Alpine freshwater ecosystems; salt water intrusion into coastal fresh-water beds and loss of wetlands, causing severe imbalances in the wetlands of the coastal zone with changes in salinity and hence in the related biotic communities.
3533 0 obj <>stream Coastal marine ecosystems are subjected to multiple stresses in addition to climate change, including overfishing, pollution, and loss of habitat. (2002); Coll et al. 2 0 obj
Light, durable, quick: I'll never go back. In order to guarantee sufficient financing, Parliament proposes that 10% of the EU’s next long-term budget is devoted to conservation of biodiversity. (2014), Grbec et al. Left unchecked, the consequences will be catastrophic for us all. Environmentalists are delighted — they say nature is in freefall and urgently needs protection as roads, railways, housing, and farmland cover the Earth.