Marine protected areas and their organisms are one of the most precious resources to be preserved. But what happens if these resources are threatened by accidents, spillage of pollutants or the enlargement of port areas?
In 2017, some Italian and French partners started a challenging initiative: the IMPACT project – IMpatto Portuale su aree marine protette: Azioni Cooperative Transfrontaliere. The project, which is included in the program ‘Interreg Italia-Francia Marittimo 2014-2020‘, aims to provide tools and guidelines to combine the conservation of the marine protected areas with the development of port activities in the 4 areas of study: Toulon, Bastia, La Spezia and Leghorn.
During the three-year project, the lead partner CNR – ISMAR, in collaboration with other partners (CIBM, Consorzio LaMMA, IFREMER, ISPRA, LECOB-CNRS, Regione Toscana and Université de Toulon), wants to contribute to the effective management of the marine protected areas. To achieve this, they have undertaken the study and the modeling of the marine currents, which include ecological observations and chemical monitoring of the areas concerned.
The results obtained will enable action to be taken in order to reduce damages. In terms of prevention, it will be possible to identify dangerous situation. In terms of intervention following an accident, there will be the chance to predict scenarios of pollutants dispersion. Furthermore, it will be easy to reach a better understanding of the larval dispersion and of the connection for reproductive purposes of the organisms living in the marine protected areas.
