Who attended
Enpa participated today in the Chamber of Deputies at the conference "Protection of protected areas: a new law 35 years after the first framework law", promoted by the vice-president of the Chamber Sergio Costa and president of the 5 Star Movement group in the Chamber to present a proposal for the reform of law 394/1991 on parks and protected areasIn addition to Sergio Costa, the meeting was attended by Ilaria Fontana, vice president of the Five Star Movement group in the Chamber of Deputies and co-signatory of the bill, along with representatives of the main environmental and animal rights groups: Ilaria Scarpetta (WWF), Giorgia Gaibani (LIPU), Riccardo Picciafuoco (Italia Nostra), Antonio Nicoletti (Legambiente), Alessandro Giannì (Greenpeace), Antonio Vecchione (Marevivo), Annamaria Procacci (ENPA), and Massimo Vitturi (LAV). The meeting was introduced and moderated by Tullio Berlenghi, Head of the Legislative Office of the Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies.
Protection of biodiversity
During the meeting, Procacci addressed – among other things – the topic of Italian protected areas: "Complementary areas and the involvement of new stakeholders represent a major environmental and cultural achievement. We need to broaden the scope of those responsible for biodiversity protection, further involving the private sector and local communities in a challenge that affects everyone's future."
The alleged risks of the bill
ENPA then launched its inevitable anti-hunting attack: "In the terrible bill 1552 that we have been working against for over a year, the parks are being hit in at least two ways," Procacci denounced. On the one hand, they are trying to force the regions to reduce protected areas to further open them up to hunting. On the other, they are introducing a severely weakened system of penalties that contradicts what Europe is demanding in the new directive on the criminal protection of the environment. The approved amendments move from 'arrest and fine' to 'arrest or fine.' The new wording calls for a prison sentence of up to six months or a fine of €900 to €3 for those who hunt in national parks, regional natural parks, nature reserves, protected areas, repopulation and trapping zones, urban parks and gardens, and even on land used for sporting activities. This means that the crime becomes punishable by law: in practice, anyone who shoots illegally, even in a national park or urban garden, risks getting away with a fine of just a few hundred euros.
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