Seas, South, Cities: the three challenges for Italy's plan to the EU

The countdown has already started and the first date to keep in mind is 10 September 2026. This is the first deadline set by the EU Nature Restoration Regulation published in the EU Official Journal in July and in force since 18 August. The ball is now in the court of the Twenty-Seven, who have two years to submit to the EU Commission draft national plans to defend biodiversity with tailored actions "taking into account the latest scientific evidence". A complex mechanism that will involve a range of actors.

"The new regulation marks a change of step and perspective: first and foremost, nature conservation is to be accompanied by the restoration of native conditions," emphasises Massimo Labra, scientific director of the Nbfc. The National Biodiversity Centre, created in 2022 and financed with NBRP funds, has as its mission precisely the monitoring, conservation, restoration and enhancement of Italian biodiversity. It will be a step-by-step process: given that overall 80% of ecosystems (terrestrial, coastal, marine and freshwater) are degraded by 2030, restoration measures will be needed for at least 30% of them. This will rise to 60% by 2040 and 90% by 2050. "Until now," Labra points out, "the protection of biodiversity was mainly considered for its social implications. Now the emphasis is also on the economic value and the increasingly interconnected link between a healthy ecosystem and climate goals'. According to official EU Commission estimates, every euro spent on nature restoration can generate a return on investment of more than EUR 8.

In the first phase, the quantification of the area of each habitat to be restored will be carried out, indicating the necessary resources and the planned means of financing. 'The world of research and in particular the Nbfc,' Labra emphasises, 'will play a key role in the reporting mechanisms, monitoring and evaluation of restoration projects. To draw up the plans, governments will have to focus on five macro-areas: increasing the number of pollinators, ensuring a more resilient ecosystem for forests, increasing green spaces and tree cover in cities, and intervening on seas and river areas. For Italy, says Labra, 'the main challenges will be to accelerate the protection of biodiversity in the seas where innovative technologies exist but the areas conserved amount to just 11 per cent. Then it will be necessary to focus on coastal erosion in the south and in the Mediterranean maquis, and it will be necessary to encourage new management models for green areas in cities'. According to the Nbfc's scientific director, 'we are facing a great opportunity that must be seized, also with the involvement of the private sector'.

The EU Commission, assisted by experts from the EEA (European Environment Agency) will make an assessment of the draft National Plans within six months. The state will have a further six months to incorporate the comments. A government review, with additional measures, is planned by 30 June 2032 and by 30 June 2042. Thereafter, at least once every 10 years, each country will review its plan and add new measures if necessary. "The objectives set by Brussels," Labra points out, "are binding, but the text of the regulation, unlike other European measures, does not provide for the imposition of sanctions for those who do not respect them. This is a significant aspect because it focuses on protecting biodiversity not as an obligation but rather as a necessity for the benefit of the country itself and its economy'. With regard to the costs of the new measures at the parliamentary hearing in June, the Minister of the Environment, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, explained that the definition of appropriate funding, including European funding, will be 'fundamental to avoid increasing burdens for the various sectors involved'.