Ecosystem Restoration Project Update
Date: 30/06/2023
NextEnergy Foundation is supporting an ecosystem restoration and climate change mitigation project in the Campo dei Fiori National Park in the Province of Varese, Lombardy, Italy. The project aims to restore a forest damaged by a severe fire in 2017 and a storm and flooding event the following year. It is one of 12 protected areas and Natura 2000 sites in the Lombardy Region of Italy which are being restored, verified and accredited in accordance with the forestry management standards of the Forest Stewardship Council ® (FSC-N001935). More information can be found on the project page: Etifor – NextEnergy Foundation.
June 2023 Update
Project Implementation: In January, the executive project design for the restoration of abandoned chestnut groves was submitted and approved by the Lombardy Region, whilst the executive design for the restoration of the ex-coniferous forest and grassland was approved in April. The interventions in the chestnut groves will begin in June and will end by autumn 2023. The interventions in the forest affected by the windstorm will begin in September 2023 and are supposed to be finalised by the end of Spring 2024.
FSC Certification: Three members of the Park’s technical staff and one member of the project partner, Associazione Fondiaria (“ASFO”) Valli delle Sorgenti, attended the second training session on the Certification in January; the session focused on the development of Management Plans. In March, Etifor staff met the members at the Park’s offices and worked together to set out the criteria for the Management Plans. In May, a third Certification session was held, this time focused on the Ecosystem Service Procedure.
Communication: A press conference was organised by Etifor on 4th April to communicate the signature of the agreement between the Campo dei Fiori Park and the two water utilities that will co-sponsor the water resource element of the project, ALFA and LeReti. With their support, a thematic working group has now been established to deepen knowledge about water resources of the Campo dei Fiori mountain range; the working group has mapped the water resources and their threats, and has developed a long-term plan to mitigate these.
The next project update will be in November 2023.