Italy-Slovenia project on biodiversity, 2 animals as 'sentinel'

(ANSA) - UDINE, 10 NOV - A bird, the Ural Tawny Owl, and an insect, the Alpine Rosalia, along with the waters of rivers, lakes, and streams, will be the natural indicators used to understand and enhance biodiversity between Italy and Slovenia by the cross-border project E-Nat2Care" in which the University of Udine is participating with five other Italian and Slovenian partners.
    The university announced this project today, specifying that "the objective of the research, which has just started, is to conserve and restore the richness of the ecosystems of the Julian Alps and Karst in the cross-border area, which is in danger, also due to deforestation, climate change and unpredictable and violent natural events, such as fires and floods." The two-year project, which aims to help strengthen the coordinated management of these areas to stem the decline in biodiversity and the worsening conservation status of habitats and species, has a budget of about 741,000 euros, of which 593,000 is funded by the EU from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Interreg Italy-Slovenia 2021-2027 program.
    The University of Friuli, given a share of about 140,000 euros, is participating with a research group from the Department of Agri-food, Environmental and Animal Sciences. The other partners are the Julian Prealps Regional Nature Park and, for Slovenia, the National Institute of Biology (lead partner), Škocjanske Jame Park, and the University of Primorska.
    "E-Nat2Care" will pursue three specific goals, Udine University points out. The first is to establish innovative, joint cross-border monitoring approaches through indicator groups for fauna composed of an insect, Rosalia alpina, found in the rotting woody mass, and a nocturnal raptor, the Ural Tawny Owl. The second goal is to strengthen local communities' awareness of "ecosystem services," i.e., the services that natural systems provide to benefit human settlements; the third goal is to enhance cooperation between science and society, both locally and regionally. (ANSA).