Faraglioni and Blue Grotto, exceptional backdrops and a centuries-long history that is still lived in the streets: the Island of Capri will soon be included among the Marine Protected Areas. The Senate, in fact, unanimously approved the bill for the establishment of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) of the magnificent island of the Campania archipelago.
After Gaiola, Punta Campanella, the Kingdom of Nettuno, Santa Maria di Castellabate, the Costa degli Infreschi and Masseta and the submerged park of Baia, Capri becomes the seventh among the marine protected areas of Campania.
The text now goes to the Chamber and then the Ministry of the Environment will carry out the necessary technical investigation.
Marevivo was born in Capri over 40 years ago, a long period of time in which we have worked constantly to protect the extraordinary biodiversity contained in the clear waters of the island that inspired its birth – declares Rosalba Giugni, President of Marevivo.
Italy was the first country in the Mediterranean to establish 30 marine protected areas and 2 submerged archaeological parks, but national laws (L.979/1982 and L. 394/1991) provide for a total of 52. And the European Union pushes us to do more with the “EU Strategy for Biodiversity to 2030”, which aims to protect at least 30% of marine areas by 2030.
There are 30 marine protected areas as well as 2 submerged parks which protect a total of approximately 231 thousand hectares of sea and approximately 711 kilometers of coastline. Each area is generally divided into three types of zones with different degrees of protection. They are made up of marine environments, given by the waters, the seabed and the nearby stretches of coast, which present significant interest for their natural, geomorphological, physical, biochemical characteristics with particular regard to the marine and coastal flora and fauna and for the scientific, ecological, cultural, educational and economic importance they have.
Now the ball passes to the Chamber, but the message is already very clear: Capri is not just a postcard to be sold to mass tourism, it is a fragile and precious natural heritage to be defended. The establishment of the Marine Protected Area represents a decisive step to restore centrality to the protection of the sea, biodiversity and a truly sustainable development model, capable of looking beyond immediate profit.
