Litorale Veneto - Concerted action for biodiversity on the Veneto coast

The project aimed to mitigate the impact of human pressure on the biodiversity along the Venetian coast, in the northern Adriatic Sea. The objective was to reinforce the ecological connection between the 13 sites and to manage them as a coherent network. The project greatly contributed to the knowledge and management of coastal habitat preservation, producing sound and updated intervention guidelines. It put into practice tools for minimising marine erosion and increased awareness among relevant authorities of this problem. In particular, the project had a positive impact on more than 200 ha of land and increased the size of the grey dune habitat. The project successfully carried out the re-naturalisation of retrodunal humid areas and stopped the loss of retrodunal water habitats. In addition, 150 hectares of pine forests were thinned in order to foster the biodiversity potential of the involved areas, and reproduction of typical coast arboreal/shrub species has been started in a specific nursing centre. Several attractive information and dissemination tools were produced and distributed. Various monitoring studies on habitat, animal and plant species were carried out.