{"id":2231,"date":"2026-10-23T10:30:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T08:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/?p=2231"},"modified":"2026-10-23T10:30:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T08:30:36","slug":"where-the-sea-suffers-most-the-risk-map-of-the-gulf-of-la-spezia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/en\/where-the-sea-suffers-most-the-risk-map-of-the-gulf-of-la-spezia\/","title":{"rendered":"Where the Sea Suffers Most: The Risk Map of the Gulf of La Spezia"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>A new study shows where marine biodiversity is most exposed to human activities and how to reduce the risks<\/h3>\n<p>The Gulf of La Spezia is one of the richest places for marine life in the Mediterranean. It includes protected areas such as the Portovenere and Cinque Terre Marine Protected Areas, the Montemarcello-Magra-Vara Regional Park, and the Pelagos Sanctuary for marine mammals. Its seabed hosts valuable habitats: colonies of the Mediterranean coral <em>Cladocora caespitosa<\/em>, meadows of <em>Posidonia oceanica<\/em> and <em>Cymodocea nodosa<\/em>, and complex \u201canimal forests.\u201d All of this coexists with an increasingly urbanized coastline and intense activities such as tourism, aquaculture, and maritime transport.<\/p>\n<h2>A Map of Risks<\/h2>\n<p>A team of ENEA researchers (lead by E. Salvatori and A. Sebastiani) has carried out a comprehensive assessment of the risks to marine habitats in the Gulf, identifying the areas where biodiversity is most exposed to the combined effect of human pressures. The study was conducted within the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.raiseliguria.it\/en\/\">RAISE<\/a> project (Spoke 4, Project 8), funded by Italy\u2019s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.governo.it\/sites\/governo.it\/files\/PNRR.pdf\">PNRR)<\/a>. Using a model called InVEST, the researchers combined the most up-to-date data on habitat distribution with data on port infrastructure, maritime traffic, illegal anchoring, wastewater discharges, and other pressures along the coast.<\/p>\n<h2>What They Found<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The highest-risk areas are concentrated along the coastline, within 250 metres of the shore, and around Portovenere, Palmaria, Tino, and Tinetto. In these places, ecologically valuable habitats overlap with intense human use.<\/li>\n<li>More than 200 hectares of marine habitats are at medium risk, and about 6 hectares are at high risk.<\/li>\n<li>Among the most vulnerable ecosystems are the <em>Posidonia<\/em> and <em>Cymodocea<\/em> meadows. These marine plants support biodiversity, improve water quality, store carbon, and protect coasts from erosion. The main threats are illegal anchoring by leisure boats, port infrastructure, coastal development, and wastewater discharges.<\/li>\n<li>Mussel farming is also under pressure, both from port-related activities and from growing predation by groups of sea bream. For operators in the sector, the economic consequences are already significant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What Can Be Done<\/h2>\n<p>The study also simulated alternative management scenarios. Targeted measures, such as stricter enforcement against illegal anchoring and more sustainable practices in the port and along the coast, could reduce environmental risk by more than 70% for some habitats. The maps produced are a practical tool for public authorities, port managers, and policymakers. They can guide conservation actions, environmental planning, and ecosystem restoration projects. They also provide a solid scientific basis for nature-based solutions, such as restoring native flat oyster reefs, and support the Gulf\u2019s transition toward a more resilient, environmentally responsible future.<\/p>\n<h2>A Method That Reaches Beyond the Gulf<\/h2>\n<p>The method, which combines risk maps with the simulation of management scenarios, can be applied elsewhere. Many Mediterranean coasts, densely populated and rich in globally significant biodiversity, face similar pressures: maritime transport, urbanization, tourism, and new infrastructure. The approach tested in the Gulf of La Spezia can help build more effective and adaptive management strategies in all these areas.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2229\" src=\"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Picture-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"935\" height=\"370\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Figure. Risk maps for marine habitats in the Gulf of La Spezia. A: low risk in shades of blue, medium in light yellow, high in red. B: no risk in blue, low risk in green, medium in yellow, high in red.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Publication:<\/strong> Sebastiani A., Peirano A., Barsanti M., Lombardi C., Appolloni L., Ciuffardi T., Chiavetta C., Salvatori E., \u201cEnvironmental Risk Assessment as a Tool to Enhance Maritime Spatial Planning in the Mediterranean Sea: The Case Study of the Gulf of La Spezia (North-Western Italy),\u201d <em>Environmental Management<\/em> 76, 277 (2026). <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00267-026-02559-1\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00267-026-02559-1<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Project funded by RAISE Innovation Ecosystem, funded by the European Union \u2013 NextGenerationEU, through the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) under the PNRR (Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.5 \u2013 Project code: ECS00000035).<\/em><\/p>\n<h5>Cover image: Animal forests in the Natural Regional Park of Portovenere: <em>Eunicella<\/em> and <em>Lophogorgia <\/em>(gorgonians) and <em>Pentapora fascialis <\/em>(bryozoan). Credits: E. Mancuso and P. Formis<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new study shows where marine biodiversity is most exposed to human activities and how to reduce the risks The Gulf of La Spezia is one of the richest places for marine life in the Mediterranean. It includes protected areas such as the Portovenere and Cinque Terre Marine Protected Areas, the Montemarcello-Magra-Vara Regional Park, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2231"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2234,"href":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2231\/revisions\/2234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartbaysteresa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}