Conservation and recovery of dune priority habitats among the sites of Cagliari, Caserta, Matera provinces

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

The Mediterranean dune habitats located along the coasts are characterised by the EU priority habitat coastal dunes with Juniperus spp. (2250*); embryonic shifting dunes (2110); shifting dunes along the shoreline with Ammophila arenaria (2120 `white dunes`); wooded dunes with forests of Pinus pinea and/or P. pinaster (2270). These habitats face several threats, the most severe of which comes from increasing tourism that leads to a degeneration of the vegetation. These coastal habitats also play a crucial role in facing the new problems related to climate change, such as rising sea level and the quality of the water for the habitats behind the dunes.

OBJECTIVES

The project aims to achieve the following objectives:

The application of best practices and demonstration actions to protect the EU priority habitat, coastal dunes with Juniperus spp. and the other related habitats within five Natura 2000 sites;

The establishment of a common approach for the long-term protection of these habitats based on sound monitoring of biotic and abiotic characteristics;

A decrease/elimination of the threats affecting these habitats in the identified sites, such as tourist pressure, coastal erosion, spread of allochtonous species, lack of management and scarcity of information;

An increase in the level of awareness of the local population (students, local inhabitants and tourists) and stakeholders of the importance of these habitats, not only for their landscape value, but also as a means to address climate change effects (e.g. rising sea level).

The project aims to contribute to the local implementation of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) European recommendations.