Status: on going

The action aims to define the rate of loss and CO₂ fixation of phanerogamous grasslands in relation to degradation phenomena, and provides for a comparison of remote sensing data recorded over time to investigate the evolution of the structure of the prairies. A standard carbon estimation protocol set for the project areas will be defined, and an economic evaluation of the mitigation services will be performed.

NEW MODELS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

But what is really a carbon credit?

And why should companies use this tool as an integral part of their business strategy?

The carbon credit mechanism was introduced for the first time with the approval of the Kyoto Protocol - an international treaty that deals with the environment and in particular global warming with the aim of reducing polluting gases deriving from human activities . Its entry into force in 2005 has allowed the adoption of the carbon credit system as a real financial mechanism able to offset the effects of those emissions that would not have otherwise been reduced, and all this has made possible the adoption of ad hoc climate change mitigation strategies.

Carbon credits as an instrument able to promote new models of sustainable development play a key role also within the Paris Agreement, where for the first time we talk about the priority role that companies can have in mitigating the effects of climate change.

Through the simple process of purchasing carbon credits, organizations direct finance to economies and ecosystems in severe difficulty. This means that their funding is not only helping to mitigate climate change, but contributes to the concrete improvement of communities by ensuring an improvement in living conditions and bringing social, economic and environmental benefits on a global scale.

Carbon credits are considered one of the cornerstones of the so-called "Climate Finance", that is all those funding, from both public and private sources, destined to the development of projects and programs for mitigation and adaptation to climate change, with the aim of encouraging transition to "Climate Neutrality" and towards sustainable development.

The SeaForest LIFE will enhance the use of the Climate Finance for conservation and restoration of Posidonia oceanica meadows. Currently there are not yet structured mechanisms to valorise economically the carbon stocks (“Blue carbon”) of Posidonia oceanica meadows. Carbon Market mechanism which is widely used for the climate mitigation activities made in the terrestrial ecosystem is not yet including the possibility to monetize the carbon stocks of Posidonia oceanica meadows.

The SeaForest LIFE project will create a voluntary based carbon market for selling and acquiring the carbon credits generated by the SeaForest LIFE project activities. For this purpose, a national IT-based platform will be created. In the second phase, the platform and carbon market approach is foreseen to be extended to cover all the Mediterranean countries and to be eligible also to be scaled up to new the protected marine areas.

To guarantee the integrity and transparency of the new carbon market it will be eligible only for the credits quantified using the standardized methodology created by the SeaForest LIFE project for this purpose. This will ensure that all the sold emission reductions are real and measured following a commonly approved scientific approach. Also the companies willing to compensate their emissions by purchasing carbon credits generated by conservation and restoration of Posidonia oceanica meadows within the National Parks involved in the Project needs to proof that they have followed the best practice approach i.e. that they have measured their own emissions through a carbon footprint and made reduction activities before opting for compensating the remaining emissions.

Regarding this, to develop an added value to the companies, the companies buying the credits generated by the activities of SeaForest LIFE will be able to use the SeaForest brand to improve their territorial reputation and insert themselves in the quality circuits promoted by the Regions within which the carbon credits are have been generated.

The strength of the SeaForest LIFE project is that will create and be promoting a local market where the companies have the possibility to compensate their emissions through activities reducing and absorbing the greenhouse gas emissions implemented within in the immediate geographical vicinity. Through the simple process of purchasing carbon credits, companies are not only helping to mitigate climate change but directly financing the conservation and restoration activities of Posidonia oceanica meadows and contemporary contributing concretely to the achievement of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by UN.

The carbon deposits

The mooring management plan

TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS TOPICS:

Carbon credits

What is the Kyoto Protocol

What is the Paris Agreement

What is Climate Finance

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

D.R.E.Am. Italia – COORDINATING BENEFICIARY

http://www.dream-italia.it

RESPONSIBLE PERSON: Marcello Miozzo (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

D.R.E.Am. is a cooperative society made up of workers specialized in forestry, nature and environment. It was established in 1978 and since then, after having carried out important experiences in forest planning in the Tuscan territory, it has operated with its own projects throughout Italy. Its activities are always aimed at sustainable management, addressing areas related to rural development, nature conservation, prevention of environmental disasters and the protection of the landscape.

ISPRA – ASSOCIATED BENEFICIARY 

http://www.isprambiente.gov.it/it

RESPONSIBLE PERSON: Marina Pulcini (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

The Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA, was established by the 133/2008 law of conversion, with amendments, of the Decree Law of 25 June 2008, n.112. ISPRA is a public research organization, and supervised by the Minister for the Environment and the protection of the territory and the sea. The Institute carries out research and experimentation activities; control, monitoring and evaluation activities; strategic consultancy, technical and scientific assistance, as well as information, dissemination, education and training in environmental matters, with reference to the protection of water, the defense of the atmospheric environment, soil, subsoil, marine and terrestrial biodiversity and their respective crops . The Department involved in the project is in particular the Department for the monitoring and protection of the environment and for the conservation of biodiversity which manages the activities of national importance for monitoring and evaluating the state of the sea, water, atmosphere and climate matrices and of natural environments and biodiversity.

CNR – IAS – ASSOCIATED BENEFICIARY

http://www.cnr.it

RESPONSIBLE PERSON: Simone Simeone (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Section (or Support Operative Unit - UOS) of Oristano studies the interactions between marine organisms and their environment, the assessment of the state of the marine ecosystem for the prediction of performance over time and space by means of numerical models and experimental investigations (in situ and laboratory experiments in a controlled environment). The main research fields are: (1) physical and biological oceanography in particular through the use of numerical models on a coastal and sub-regional scale in the context of operational oceanography and sea forecasts; (2) the biology of organisms with the ecophysiology of fish; (3) the morphodynamics of coastal environments, ie the relationships between hydrodynamics, solid transport and the variability of morphological characteristics in the lagoons, in the sandy coasts and in the continental shelf; (4) the ecology of benthos and analysis of trophic networks (stable isotopes C and N) in coastal and transitional marine ecosystems; the development and application of environmental quality benthic indicators within the EU Marine Directives; (5) Management and conservation of marine biological resources with particular reference to the study of protected species and Marine Protected Areas. 

CARBONSINK group s.r.l. - ASSOCIATED BENEFICIARY

http://www.carbonsink.it

RESPONSIBLE PERSON: Ulla Mauno (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), Antonio Guiso (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Carbonsink is a highly specialized consulting company that deals with the development of sustainability strategies on CO2 emissions compensation. Carbonsink primarily deals with mitigation projects aimed at reducing and compensating for the emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In line with the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), it assists its customers in their plans to reduce and offset their greenhouse gas emissions and also supports public and private organizations in the design and development of carbon projects, many of which have successfully generated high quality certified carbon credits with important social, economic and environmental benefits.

UNIVERSITY OF TUSCIA – ASSOCIATED BENEFICIARY

http://www.unitus.it/it/dipartimento/dibaf

RESPONSIBLE PERSON: Marco Marcelli (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), Simone Bonamano (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

The Department for Innovation in Biological, Agri-Food and Forestry Systems (DIBAF), established by Rectoral Decree n. 350/11 of 22.04.2011), born from the union of scientific skills present in the former Faculty of Agriculture and Sciences MM.FF.NN, is a research and multidisciplinary teaching laboratory for scientific and technological innovation of the processes of enhancement, protection and management of biological systems, forest resources, food processing and safety, human health and chemistry for the environment and the territory in general, with particular attention to environmental sustainability.

WATER RIGHT FOUNDATION – ASSOCIATED BENEFICIARY

http://www.wrf.it/

RESPONSIBLE PERSON: Giuseppe Bonanno (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Since 2002, Publiacqua S.p.A., the company that manages the water service in the Medio Valdarno basin in Tuscany, has engaged in water cooperation projects. Through the destination of one hundredth of a euro per cubic meter of water consumed by users, the fund "The water belongs to everyone" is set up, thanks to which it was possible to carry out interventions in those countries where water is lacking or badly used. In 2005, the founding members with the contribution of the local Tuscan authorities, together with the scientific and academic world, created a non-profit association for the management of the Fund itself: the WATER RIGHT FOUNDATION was born, which, in just over a decade has carried out projects for around 2,500,000 euros, with a total number of estimated beneficiaries equal to one million people. In 2012, the transformation from an association to an ONLUS Participation Foundation was promoted, with the aim of extending the areas of action to energy, food and health and thereby directing its commitment towards the issue of climate change. and commitments on the climate of COP 21. The "300 billion trees" project is born, which assumes that at least 300 billion new trees should be planted to reach the goal of carbon neutrality in 2050 worldwide. The project aims to use all the appropriate tools to promote the planting of new trees - in any suitable place and by any subject - and increase the storage capacity of CO2 in wood, plants and soil. Not only a commitment to the Earth but also one in favor of the sea, so as to provide, in the project, a specific section dedicated to BLUE CARBON and thus turning attention to Posidonia oceanica, particularly sensitive and widespread in the Mediterranean, capable of storing large amount of CO₂ and yet subject to pressure that follows important erosion phenomena.

PARAGON EUROPE – ASSOCIATED BENEFICIARY

http://www.paragoneurope.eu/

RESPONSIBLE PERSON: Nadia Theuma (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) 

Paragon Limited, aka Paragon Europe, is an innovative and international EU-compliant consulting firm based in Malta and Brussels. Since its inception, Paragon Europe has sought to achieve excellence by competing with colleagues at the forefront of the ultra-competitive EU funding market. Paragon Europe collaborates with private and public organizations, NGOs, universities, educational institutions and agencies that offer various services related to programs funded at European level such as Horizon 2020, Erasmus +, Europe for citizens and other programs. The areas of specialization of Paragon Europe include climate change, the environment (water, energy and transport) and the development of companies and SMEs. The involvement of Paragon Europe in the project activities includes stakeholder engagement and capacity building, research, and training. Through a consolidated internal management system and its extensive network of connections, both locally and abroad, Paragon Europe acts at the forefront of the promotion of knowledge management tools for the exploitation and exploitation of project results and transfer of knowledge. Paragon Europe is also the main point of reference in Malta for Climate-KIC, a European community for innovation and knowledge; in addition, Paragon Europe is a member of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.

ARCHIPELAGO OF LA MADDALENA NATIONAL PARK – ASSOCIATED BENEFICIARY

http://www.lamaddalenapark.it/

RESPONSIBLE PERSON: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The National Park of the La Maddalena Archipelago - a non-economic public body established by law n. 10 of 4 January 1994 - covers an area of ​​about 18,000 hectares. The Park includes the entire marine area of ​​the La Maddalena Archipelago (13,000 ha) and the terrestrial area (5,134 ha) of islands and islets belonging to the territory of the homonymous municipality for 180 km of coastline; finally, it includes the SCI ITB010008 and the SPA ITB010008. Located in the waters of the Strait of Bonifacio - between Sardinia and Corsica - the PNALM is part of the territory of the Italian and Sardinian State of the International Marine Park of the Bocche di Bonifacio, for the realization of which the Park Authority cooperates with the courses environmental protection: in this context, in 2012, the European PMIBB Territorial Cooperation Group was formally established. In this context, the Authority works to preserve the environmental, cultural and historical heritage of the La Maddalena Archipelago; to promote knowledge of the natural environment (eg environmental education and awareness); enhance traditional economic activities; favor a correct and more qualified use of environmental assets promoting compatible forms of economy; encourage exchanges of experience with other protected areas with particular reference to the cross-border Sardinian-Corsican area. Given its institutional aims, the Park Authority has specific expertise and experience in monitoring activities in general and the protection of the marine environment, with particular attention to safeguarding the prairies of Posidonia meadows. In this regard, regulations and monitoring are aimed at minimize and evaluate anthropic pressure (eg tourism, pleasure, etc.) on this priority habitat 1120 * Posidonia meadows (Posidonion oceanicae). The PNALM also manages the Center for Environmental Education. Located in loc. Stagnali (island of Caprera) which houses two small museums and a guest house.

ASINARA NATIONAL PARK – ASSOCIATED BENEFICIARY

http://www.parcoasinara.org/

RESPONSIBLE PERSON: Pietro Paolo Congiatu (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.); Vittorio Gazale (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

The Asinara National Park, established by law n. 344 of 8 October 1997, covers an area of ​​approximately 5,200 hectares. The Park includes the Marine Protected Area of ​​Asinara Island, which surrounds the Island of Asinara and has an extension of about 108 km2, the Site of Community Importance Isola dell'Asinara ITB010082 and the Special Protection Zone Isola Asinara ITB010001. It is located in the province of Sassari. The Park Authority works to preserve the environmental, cultural and historical heritage of the Asinara Island; to promote knowledge of the natural environment; enhance traditional economic activities; encourage exchanges of experience with other protected areas, in particular with other Sardinian parks such as the La Maddalena Archipelago National Park. The Park Authority has specific expertise regarding monitoring activities for the protection of Posidonia oceanica meadows, which have a considerable extension within the Park itself. The Park Authority has among its primary competences (Law 327/1991) education and environmental awareness raising aimed at the conservation of biodiversity and landscape. To this end it manages the CEAS.inara, located on the island of Asinara in the locality of "Cala Reale". It was founded in 2009 as a Center for Environmental Education and Sustainability within the INFEA system - Information, Training and Environmental Education of Sardinia, and for its mission and operational organization is inspired by the principles of the Quality System for Environmental Education ( SIQUAS) promoted in 2010 by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia.

CILENTO, VALLO DI DIANO AND ALBURNI NATIONAL PARK – ASSOCIATED BENEFICIARY

http://www.cilentoediano.it/

RESPONSIBLE PERSON: Romano Gregorio (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

The national park of Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni was established in 1991, while in 1995 the institution for its management was established. The protected natural area of ​​about 36,000 hectares, entirely included in the province of Salerno, was subsequently extended to bring its surface to 181,048 hectares. Since 1998 it has been UNESCO World Heritage Site (with the archaeological sites of Paestum and Velia and the Certosa di Padula), since 1997 it has been a Biosphere Reserve and since 2010 is the first Italian national park to become a Geopark. The Park Authority has the task of pursuing the following aims of environmental protection and social promotion: protecting, enhancing and extending the characteristics of naturalness, territorial and environmental integrity; promote scientific research and environmental education studies as well as the cultural growth of resident populations. The organization pursues the aims of protecting the soil, fauna and flora through the preparation of the management plans of the SIC and SPA areas and studies, research and monitoring in the field of nature conservation. The park includes two Marine Protected Areas: the Marine Protected Area of ​​Santa Maria di Castellabate and the Protected Marine Air Coast of the Infreshi and Masseta, both established in 2009. Within these areas are present, in addition to other priority habitats , extensive prairies of Posidonia oceanica (habitat 1120*).