During the Festival della soft economy, one day was dedicated to the Apennines, to take stock of the situation 20 years on from the Ape project, Appennino Parco d'Europa.
The Apennines are far more than a mountain range: they are the backbone of our country. They may lack the marmoreal perfection or the sharp peaks of the Alps, yet they are a place of encounters, where people, animals and woodlands coexist, and they played a decisive role during the Resistance. An entire day dedicated to the Apennines was organised by Fondazione Symbola, Federparchi and Legambiente, taking place during the Festival della soft economy, held in Macerata and Treia from 5 to 9 July.
Twenty-one years have passed since the birth of the Ape project — an acronym for Appennino Parco d'Europa — an initiative launched in 1995 to combine conservation projects with territorial and rural development policies, recognising the mountains as a strategic resource. At the festival, attended by all the main representatives of the parks world and numerous institutions, a kind of version 2.0 of the Ape project was launched, to take stock and prepare to face the challenges ahead.
In the years following the Second World War, numerous mountain and foothill areas witnessed intense depopulation, particularly in the Apennine zones. Investment and resources were concentrated in the plains and large urban centres, effectively condemning mountain communities. Mountain territory accounts for nearly three-fifths of the national land area, yet currently home to only one-fifth of the population. The Ape project was also created to promote the sustainable development of the mountains — areas that had been marginalised for far too long. The new phase of the project begins precisely from here, from the virtuous experiences that, over these years, have seen communities, institutions, local authorities and parks engage in dialogue and grow together.
After the phase of abandonment, the Apennines are gradually being repopulated, thanks to immigrants. Too often seen as a threat, or at the very least a problem, in mountain communities immigrants have become an invaluable resource — demographic, economic and social. "Over the last twenty years, 21.3 per cent of the immigrants who arrived in Italy have integrated in the Apennines," declared Alessandro Rinaldi of Unioncamere. Immigrants have ventured into the Apennines attracted by low housing costs and, through their presence, have countered the decline of woodlands, pastures and villages, preserving a heritage of incalculable wealth. It is nonetheless necessary to continue nurturing integration, Carlo Cambi, journalist and writer, reminded the audience, and to ensure that they "become the new Apennine people".
"The Apennines hold within them an immense dichotomous value made up of tradition and innovation," stated Rossella Muroni, president of Legambiente. "I believe that parks can represent a laboratory of economic innovation for the country; they will win this challenge if they manage to work as a system during this phase of economic crisis. The time has come to move towards the definition and implementation of a national strategy capable of ensuring more effective governance of the Apennines and of projecting itself onto the Euro-Mediterranean stage through an institutional agreement between the government, the regions, local authorities and protected area management bodies, open to the leading role and involvement of associations, businesses and the many organisations of civil society, particularly at a local level."
Over the past twenty years, extraordinary objectives have been achieved with regard to the conservation of Italian animal and plant species. "The Marsican bear and the Bosnian pine are symbols of species saved by the parks. – explained Giampiero Sammuri, president of Federparchi – We should also mention the Apennine chamois, which was close to extinction and today is widespread across five Apennine parks. We have an incredible heritage made up of woodlands, forests and animals; we must make it bear fruit as a system. The diversity between the areas represents an added value, but the development model to pursue must be a single one".