The figures emerging from the 8th National Congress of Federparchi, held recently in Trezzo sull'Adda, are positive and encouraging. Figures that make Italy the country with the highest biodiversity rate in Europe.

Consider the area of national territory covered by national parks: 14,656 square kilometres, a surface slightly smaller than that of Calabria. Taking into account regional reserves, the extent of protected areas and Natura 2000 network sites, the total reaches 22 per cent of Italy.

"This is a historic moment of great importance for the world of parks," says Giampiero Sammuri, president of Federparchi. "In the territories where Italy is protected, not only is a natural heritage of inestimable value being safeguarded, but also the very identity of our country, and a strategic asset for relaunching our economy and creating employment in the name of quality tourism, agriculture linked to cyclical production, culture and traditions."

Good news also comes from the new European Red List of birds at risk of extinction: the ferruginous duck (Aythya nyroca), the stone-curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus), the black kite (Milvus migrans) and the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) are the species whose conservation status has improved.

But these are not the only birds to have found a home and a suitable habitat for the survival of their species, in a country that today is home to 55,600 animal species (30 per cent of European species) and 7,636 plant species (50 per cent of European species). There are true symbols of European fauna: "Protected areas have shown a remarkable capacity to carry out projects and actions to protect nature," Giampiero Sammuri emphasised.

It is thanks to the parks that some of these priority species are no longer at risk today and others have been successfully reintroduced, and Italian research in the environmental and ecological field is also among the most interesting, from the point of view of management results of protected areas and of biodiversity in general.

Giampiero Sammuri

The 11 species saved by our parks

1. Griffon vulture

Having disappeared due to poisoned baits, it can be observed soaring over the Nebrodi, the largest protected area in Sicily. More than 100 specimens, descended from individuals reintroduced from Spain, now reside in the Nebrodi park.

2. Apennine chamois

Practically extinct at the beginning of the 20th century, it has today returned to populate the parks of the central Apennines, with nearly 2,000 specimens. It is an endemic subspecies. The Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata lives exclusively within the parks of central Italy. It should not be confused with the more widespread Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra), a different species.

3. Osprey

Absent as a nesting species in Italy since the 1960s, these fascinating birds, which feed exclusively on fish, are studied and protected thanks to sophisticated remote recording technologies that allow the life of nestlings to be monitored from the very first hours after hatching.

4. Alpine brown bear

From the 3–4 brown bears that remained in the mountains of the Adamello Brenta Group, a community of around 40–50 specimens has now been established. Their presence is an indicator of a healthy environment with a rich and varied food chain. The phenomenon of spontaneous migration of bears coming mainly from Slovenia is also continuing.

5. Alpine ibex

The symbol of the Gran Paradiso National Park, it risked extinction at the end of the 19th century. It is currently present in all the valleys. The ibex is the subject of particular attention and protection from the Park, and several research and conservation projects are dedicated to it. From Gran Paradiso, the presence of this species has spread throughout the entire Alpine arc.

6. Bearded vulture

Considered extinct as a nesting species from the Alps at the beginning of the 20th century, it is today present with a self-sustaining and stable population, thanks to a European reintroduction project involving many countries on the continent. Around 150 individuals were released in the Alps up to ten years ago under a reintroduction programme involving Italy, France, Switzerland and Austria.

7. Wolf

Having fallen to fewer than 100 specimens in the 1970s, the estimated wolf population in Italy today exceeds 1,000 specimens thanks to the establishment of parks. Forty years ago, in the Majella Park, the first radio collar on this species was trialled.

8. Golden eagle

In many regions the eagle is still present today, but only in mountainous areas, whereas in previous centuries it also nested on plains and in forests. In Italy it is present in the Alps, the Apennines, and the Sardinian and Sicilian mountains, in correspondence with park areas.

9. Mediterranean dusky grouper

The species, like many other Serranidae, is endangered and is listed on the IUCN Red List. In Italy it is protected in the marine protected areas of Asinara, the Tremiti Islands, the Egadi Islands and Portofino, while the species has essentially disappeared outside the protection zones.

10. Mediterranean monk seal

Despite the few sightings along our coastline, this extremely elusive and sensitive marine mammal has once again been observed in the caves of the small Sicilian island of Marettimo, thanks to protection policies and artisanal fishing management in the Egadi marine protected area, alongside some surprising sightings in the northern Adriatic.

11. Marsican brown bear

The symbol of animal protection in Italy. Endemic to our country, it still numbers far too few individuals, as reported in the Italian Red List compiled last year by Federparchi on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment.

The 11 saved species – browse the gallery