The Orbetello Lagoon Environmental Park has been established
Environment — di Simone Santi
The Environmental Park for the sustainability of the Orbetello Lagoon has been established: it will need to address a serious environmental emergency
The Orbetello Lagoon Environmental Park has been established
The Environmental Park for the sustainability of the Orbetello Lagoon has been established: it will need to address a serious environmental emergency
- Parliament gives the green light to the Orbetello Lagoon Environmental Park, on the coast of the province of Grosseto.
- The aim is to structurally address the lagoon's environmental problems, which has been hit by fish die-offs caused by algae.
- The Wwf raises doubts, linked to the possibility of circumventing the law on protected areas and to a management Consortium that is too institutional and lacking scientific experts.
From this week, Italy has one more protected natural area: the Orbetello Lagoon Environmental Park. Established by law following the definitive approval of Parliament, its creation does not serve an exclusively touristic purpose — despite being located in an area close to the Grosseto coastline — but rather aims to resolve the deep environmental crisis affecting one of Italy's most precious wetlands. Known for its extraordinary biodiversity and classified as a Special Conservation Zone (Zsc), Special Protection Zone (Zps) and Ramsar site, the Orbetello Lagoon has for years been at the centre of increasingly frequent environmental emergencies, which occurred punctually — and indeed more severely than usual — in the summer of 2024, with thousands of fish dying from anoxia due to an algae invasion caused, among other things, by record heat. A situation that has shifted from an emergency to a structural problem, effectively bringing the fishing industry and tourist season to their knees, and above all causing severe environmental damage.
In questi giorni si sta verificando una moria di pesci nelle acque della laguna di Orbetello, in provincia di Grosseto. Le temperature elevate dell'acque hanno portato allo sviluppo di molte alghe che hanno ridotto drasticamente l'ossigeno.
Grazie a -Tornado in Italia -
Grazie a -Tornado in Italia -
What the Orbetello Lagoon Environmental Park is for
The law establishing the Orbetello Lagoon Environmental Park provides for the creation of a Consortium composed of the Ministry of the Environment, the Tuscany Region, the Province of Grosseto and the Municipalities of Orbetello and Monte Argentario. The Park will oversee a whole range of actions, with an "organic approach to tackling environmental challenges and promoting development compatible with the protection of the territory." These include:
- Monitoring and maintenance of the lagoon, including canals and infrastructure;
- Removal and treatment of algae;
- Restoration of water quality;
- Eco-sustainable enhancement of natural resources;
- Support for productive activities linked to the lagoon.
The doubts raised by the Wwf
As currently conceived, however, the establishment of the Orbetello Lagoon Environmental Park has raised red flags among environmental associations such as the Wwf, which have identified critical issues that could even worsen the current situation. Chief among these is the fact that the introduction of a management consortium could effectively lead to the non-application of the framework law on protected areas, risking the opening of a kind of regulatory free-for-all that could weaken the safeguarding of the area.
#LagunadiOrbetello. Approvato in via definitiva, con 144 voti favorevoli, nessun contrario e un'astensione, il ddl sull'istituzione del Parco ambientale senato.it/leg/19/BGT/Sch…
Also highlighted is the exclusion of the current managing bodies — namely the Wwf itself and other bodies such as the Reparto Carabinieri Biodiversità di Follonica — "which have accumulated decades of experience in protecting the lagoon but have not been included in the new management structure." This exclusion, according to the Wwf, "makes it harder to coordinate interventions and deprives the territory of indispensable technical and scientific expertise," thus risking the restart from scratch of years of work for the protection of the territory.
Oggi il #Senato ha istituito il "Parco ambientale della Laguna di Orbetello"
Per il #WWF il DDL contiene due gravi criticità:
La disapplicazione della Legge Quadro sulle Aree Protette (L. 394/1991)
L'esclusione degli enti gestori delle aree protette
wwf.it/area-stampa/il…
Per il #WWF il DDL contiene due gravi criticità:
La disapplicazione della Legge Quadro sulle Aree Protette (L. 394/1991)
L'esclusione degli enti gestori delle aree protette
wwf.it/area-stampa/il…
Despite these difficulties, the Orbetello Lagoon remains one of Italy's most captivating ecosystems. The Wwf Oasis, established in 1971 following the discovery of a nesting colony of black-winged stilts, protects 870 hectares of unspoilt nature. The reserve is a refuge for thousands of migratory birds, including flamingos, ducks, herons and ospreys. Each day it offers unique natural spectacles, such as the flight of pink flamingos and the call of lapwings, attracting visitors and researchers from around the world. The lagoon's recognition as a Ramsar site — the international convention that protects wetlands as fundamental habitats for biodiversity and climate regulation — underscores its global significance. Yet Italy risks failing to meet its international commitments if it does not act swiftly to safeguard Orbetello.