D.R.E.Am. Italia is leading a substantial research project funded by PNRR funds through a MASE (Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security) call for proposals, which involves wildlife monitoring in 24 Italian parks.
Using innovative techniques and scientific principles, this unprecedented project involves all 24 national parks on the peninsula simultaneously. The initiative, which aims to create a single, uniform national database on species distribution (occupancy) and the impact of human activities on them, consists primarily of training protected area staff in the use of innovative equipment acquired as a result of calls for tenders issued by the Ministry.
D.R.E.Am. Italia, given its more than 40 years of experience in the field of wildlife monitoring and management and thanks to its ability to field a multidisciplinary team with long-standing training and expertise, has been awarded the management of the lots relating to bats, micro-mammals and meso- and large mammals.
In the three lots of the D.R.E.Am. project – in ATI with NEMO and Oikos – it has a general coordination role and, in particular, in lot 5, D.R.E.Am. technicians are involved in a dual role as trainers of specialised personnel and parks (41 teams of operators with degrees in scientific subjects) for the positioning of 1,900 camera traps in the territories involved, with a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 120 camera traps depending on the size of the individual protected areas, from Pantelleria to Stelvio, passing through all the other Italian protected areas.
The scientific representative of D.R.E.Am in the academic world is Professor Francesco Rovero who, in collaboration with Professor Lorenzo Seidenari, has developed the Wilde.AI platform at the University of Florence, where all the collected material will be uploaded and analysed.
The summer monitoring phase has just been completed and the second monitoring phase will begin between October and November. Thousands of images will make it possible to implement the knowledge of the entire network of national parks, highlight any problems and define new conservation strategies.
The internal team managing this work, which will be of enormous naturalistic, academic and managerial importance in the near future, is composed of President Marcello Miozzo, Sandro Nicoloso for his extensive experience in wildlife management, Paola Semenzato for relations with national parks and other ATI members, Katuscia Begliomini for administrative management, Andrea Gaggioli, Costanza Rosso and Lorenzo La Russa for the coordination of the field teams.
The support of the entire D.R.E.Am. structure is fundamental for the management of such a complex project, with numerous collaborators leading the field teams to ensure the correct implementation of the working protocols.
The project aims to use modern technology to collect structured and consistent data on the evolution of mammal and other species populations, study seasonal variations and animal behaviour dynamics, provide information for park management and environmental policies, including human-environment relations, and above all contribute to species conservation.