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Biodiversity, understood as the richness and variety of living organisms on Earth, is fundamental to the functioning of ecosystems. Its importance, however, extends far beyond the environmental sphere: biodiversity underpins essential ecosystem services that economies, communities, and production systems rely upon. As biodiversity declines, these services begin to deteriorate, threatening the stability of economic activities that depend on healthy and balanced natural systems.
La biodiversità, intesa come ricchezza e varietà di organismi viventi sulla Terra, è fondamentale per il funzionamento degli ecosistemi. Ma il suo ruolo va ben oltre l’aspetto prettamente ambientale: la biodiversità sostiene servizi ecosistemici essenziali da cui dipendono economie, comunità e filiere produttive. Quando la biodiversità si impoverisce, anche questi servizi iniziano a venire meno. E con loro vacillano tutte le attività economiche che dipendono da un ambiente sano ed equilibrato.
A dynamic and delicate system
Seen from above, the coastline appears as a simple line separating land from sea, but its nature is more complex and dynamic: it is a transition zone between continental and marine environments, constantly reshaped by a delicate balance between erosion, sediment transport, and deposition.
A global problem with local dimensions
One of the defining characteristics of environmental challenges, especially in the marine environment, is their global nature. Many of the problems we now recognize as urgent and alarming were ignored for too long. Too often, we simply looked the other way, sweeping the dust under the rug or, in this case, hiding the plastic bottle beneath the sea.
A multitude of diverse environments
At the interface of land and water, wetlands include an extraordinary range of environments, all linked by one essential element: water. From marshes and swamps to peatlands and natural or artificial basins, whether permanent or seasonal, with still or flowing water, fresh, brackish, or saline, they all fall under the definition of wetlands. Despite their diversity, these ecosystems cover only about 6% of the Earth’s surface.
