The ‘Biodiversity and Climate (BioClima)’ initiative represents a true innovation in the world of responsible forest management. It’s a public-private model for the conservation of biodiversity and combating climate crisis in Lombardy.
All projects are co-funded by
The projects benefit from public co-financing by Lombardy and offer the opportunity for companies to propose a new and positive message to employees, customers, suppliers and the entire community. It is a great opportunity to contribute to the improvement of Lombardy’s environment by supporting concrete actions in the region’s regional parks and protected areas.
Many companies have already chosen to invest in these projects, which can be used in sustainability and CSR strategies.
Create new forests and improve existing ones, wherever they are located (lowlands, hills, or mountains), also in line with European targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
Expand the area of habitats useful for biodiversity conservation and create new green infrastructure for ecological connectivity, in line with the European Biodiversity Strategy 2030.
Increasing the provision of ecosystem services and their economic valoriaation by making habitats and human communities more resilient.
All intervention surfaces are FSC® certified and generate verified positive impacts that can be used in sustainability and CSR strategies, thus demonstrating their contribution to the SDGs.
The Ticino Park covers an area of approximately 91,800 hectares recognised by UNESCO as a MAB Biosphere Reserve. A rich and varied set of ecosystems means that the protected area contains a wealth of biodiversity that has no equal in the Po Valley, constituting the most important ecological corridor connecting the Alps and the Apennines. The interventions are intended to further improve the quality of dozens of hectares of forest habitats, create new perifluvial woods and wetlands in agricultural areas.
The Adda River has shaped precious areas for biodiversity in the Lombardy plain, and given birth to Boschi dell’Adda Sud. Extreme weather events, strong winds and floods are undermining their growth. Therefore a series of interventions are needed to preserve this green gem. The disappearance of pollinators like bees is also due to the decay and scattering of environments fit for their survival. Adda Sud park to do its part to reverse the trend by working on the enrichment of grass, trees, and shrubs focusing on the most appealing species for pollinators.
Oglio Sud Park extends along the river banks of the lower course of the Oglio river, for a total of about 70 km. It’s an environment where only 5% of the territory is occupied by natural ecosystems that are subject to strong pressures and therefore fragile. The interventions in this area aim to improve and strengthen some very important habitats, including a wetland area and a series of small forests that, as a whole, create an important ecological network supporting local biodiversity.
Oglio Nord regional Park stretches along the River Oglio from Lake Iseo to the River Mella, its tributary. Despite the fact that the area is heavily altered by land reclamation and intensive agriculture, there are still natural environments of considerable ecological significance. The project aims to restore some forests damaged by atmospheric events and the invasion of allochthonous plant species that alter the ecosystem. Biodiversity interventions are also planned: restoration of wetland habitats, placement of bat nest boxes and pollinator refuges.
Maria Luigia is a river island in the middle course of the Po joined to the bank by a single hydraulic pen, and gives its name to the SPA of which it is the central element. A large part of the area, approximately 200 hectares, were affected by forestation between 1997 and 2000. Next to and around these woods are further patches of spontaneous white willow forest. The intervention aims to improve the first formation by proceeding with a modest thinning aimed at giving more space to typical species, and to counteract allochthonous species in the willow groves, including with artificial undergrowth of white willow.
The Serio Park is a regional river park that stretches from Seriate along the Serio River to its mouth in the Adda River. In the southernmost part of the river course are wetlands that often present characteristics of great naturalistic interest. With the project submitted as a candidate for the BioClima Call for Proposals, the Serio Park intends both to create new perifluvial wooded areas within the river floodplain and to create new wetlands, near the white stork habitat centre, useful for providing elective habitats for amphibians, with particular reference to the Lataste Frog, a red frog endemic to the Lombardo Veneta plain and already present in the area.
The Torbiere del Sebino Nature Reserve is declared a ‘wetland of international importance’, is part of the Natura 2000 Network and is considered a priority area for biodiversity in the Lombardy Po Valley. This is due to the presence of a variety of habitats and species, which are rare or at risk of extinction in Lombardy and in Italy: the interventions are aimed at preserving this natural jewel.
These young forests need to be directed toward optimal species structure and composition. The goal is to prevent excessive competition among trees from slowing down the growth of the forest or some species from overpowering others, while maintaining a balanced level of biodiversity. In addition, ponds suitable for amphibian reproduction will be realised.
The Orobie Valtellinesi Park stretches from 900 m to over 3000 m altitude, with 44,000 hectares of alpine forests, meadows and ridges. These mountains guard the secrets of a still intact nature, among which are rare animal and plant species. The capercaillie, symbol of the park, is one of the Alpine species with the greatest conservation problems. Interventions are aimed at recreating and improving certain areas within the park’s forests to make them more suitable for the needs of the Capercaillie, increasing biodiversity.
The Campo dei Fiori Park dominates the Varese hilly area. Its geographical location and geological features have favoured the establishment of a very varied vegetation, with chestnut and beech woods, rocky flora and peaty-paludic environments, rich in wildlife. The project aims to restore a forest damaged by atmospheric events and to improve a number of valuable habitats, such as rough meadows and ancient chestnut groves.
Since 2009, the Spina Verde Park has been recognised as a Special Area of Conservation. 150 vertebrate species, as well as numerous invertebrate species such as the crayfish or flying deer, are regularly surveyed and monitored. Thanks to the forest redevelopment of damaged forests and the enhancement of wetlands, the Park aims to ensure the continuation of many ecosystem services such as carbon capture, groundwater recharge and the preservation of a healthy environment to host recreational activities.
The wide altitudinal range allows the presence of heterogeneous environments of great landscape, naturalistic and faunal value, enhanced by remarkable examples of anthropised landscape, linked to the traditional agro-pastoral activities practised in the past in the valley bottom. The project envisages the improvement of beech and alder alluvial forests and the restoration of dry stone walls: typical structures of the local landscape that, in addition to preserving the historical memory of the landscape, become habitats for some priority species such as some species of saurians and snakes.
With the support of Fondazione Cariplo.
BioClima is an initiative created in the framework of the LIFE GESTIRE 2020 – Nature Integrated Management to 2020 project, with the contribution of the LIFE+ financial instrument of the European Commission and the support of the Lombardy Region. www.naturachevale.it
