Biodiversity, a common heritage

All elements of biodiversity, whether microscopic or gigantic, rare or common, inextricably linked to water or adapted to its scarcity, participate in the universal processes of creating and preserving life on the planet.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the loss, or even degradation, of biodiversity corresponds to an impoverishment of the quality of life and entails economic and social costs.

Life itself on earth relies on the 'services' provided by ecosystems that maintain a certain level of functionality:

- Supporting services: e.g. soil formation, photosynthesis, nutrient cycling;

- Supply services: e.g. food, water, wood and fibre;

- Regulatory services: e.g. climate stabilisation, hydrological structure, water quality, barrier to the spread of disease;

- Cultural services: e.g. aesthetic, recreational and spiritual values

The loss of biodiversity is therefore not just the extinction of species. Instead, what is at stake is the progressive decrease and potential disappearance of countless vital services that the natural world provides us with (for free).

In 1992, the Convention on Biodiversity was signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It constitutes the first fundamental international act by which states commonly committed themselves to halting the loss of biodiversity. Individual countries define how to implement its principles, through the creation of a special national plan.
The convention was ratified by the European Union in 1993 and by the Italian state in 1994.