Wonderful, sunny, full of magnificent views and in the middle of an extraordinary sea. After over forty years of campaigns for the protection of the sea, Capri reaches a long-awaited goal: the establishment of its Marine Protected Area is finally a reality.
With the final approval of the bill by the VIII Environment Commission of the Chamber in the legislative session, the parliamentary process that gave life to the new “Island of Capri” MPA, a tool to protect one of the most precious and well-known ecosystems in the Mediterranean, has concluded.
Within six months of the law coming into force, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security will have to complete the necessary steps to make the area operational. Furthermore, the provision establishes the definitive separation between the two realities previously united in the name of the marine procurement area “Peninsula della Campanella – Isle of Capri”: on the one hand “Punta Campanella”, on the other “Island of Capri”, each with its own management path.
The symbolic island of the Mediterranean
Capri has always been one of the most iconic places in the Mediterranean: an island famous throughout the world for its landscape, its crystal clear waters and the richness of its seabed. Yet, until today, it had remained without a dedicated Marine Protected Area. The birth of the new MPA therefore fills a historic gap in the Italian system of protected marine areas and represents a step towards the objectives of the European 30×30 Strategy, which aims to protect at least 30% of marine areas by 2030.
An important goal not only for the conservation of biodiversity, but also for building a different model of relationship with the sea: made up of scientific research, monitoring, environmental education and more sustainable tourism.
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Above all, Marevivo is celebrating the result, the foundation that began its journey for the defense of marine ecosystems from Capri over forty years ago.
Marevivo was born over forty years ago in Capri, where our first campaigns for the protection of the sea started. Since then we have worked with dedication and perseverance to protect the extraordinary biodiversity of the island. We are convinced that Marine Protected Areas must be not only conservation tools, but also centers of scientific research, biodiversity monitoring, environmental education and diffusion of sea culture, declares Rosalba Giugni, President of Marevivo.
For Marevivo, the new Marine Protected Area does not just represent a new border on paper, but can become a laboratory for protection and sustainable development. Thanks to its biodiversity, its strategic position in the Mediterranean and its international fame, Capri could transform itself into an example of a possible balance between nature protection, research, responsible tourism and maritime economy.
Finally, the establishment of the MPA comes at a time when the Italian system of marine protected areas continues to ask for greater attention and resources. Today there are 32 Italian MPAs, including two submerged archaeological areas, compared to the 52 foreseen by the framework law on protected areas of 1991.
The challenge now will be to transform the new Marine Protected Area of Capri into a concrete tool: capable of protecting corals, Posidonia meadows, marine species and vulnerable habitats, but also of involving those who live on the island every day, to guarantee a future for those territories that draw identity, culture and economy from the sea.
