Hunting and Territory. In an article published on 2 October in the newspaper "La Sicilia", Dr. Michele Sorrenti of the FIdC Avifauna Migratoria Office replies to the positions taken by the Lipu expressed in the same newspaper to plead the cause of a new institution of the natural reserve of the Pantani della South Eastern Sicily.
This is the text of the Office and the cited article is attached:
“The LIPU article reports some inaccuracies on the real faunal and legal situation that exists today in the area of the former nature reserve“ Pantani della Sicilia south-eastern ”. The reserve was canceled following the sentence of the Constitutional Court which established that the Sicilian law on parks and reserves is unconstitutional in the parts in which it does not involve local authorities or municipalities in the establishment process.
The fact that the 1991 decree identified the marshes area as a suitable area for a nature reserve does not at all determine a legal obligation of the region to establish it, in fact, before the incorrect establishment in 2011 20 years passed without the reserve being established. In reality, the area of the marshes of south-eastern Sicily is already protected by the establishment of the Natura2000 SIC and ZPS sites, which ensures the conservation of the habitats and species of animals living in it.
Natura2000 areas were created by the European Union with the aim of preserving habitats, birds and other animal species, without prohibiting human activities, as long as they are compatible with conservation objectives. The areas cannot undergo environmental transformations since any intervention must be subjected to an impact assessment. The European funds of LIFE projects are expressly foreseen for Natura2000 areas, so they can be disbursed even now that the reserve no longer exists.
With regard to the presence of avifauna, the marshes of south-eastern Sicily have been places of high naturalistic value for centuries, well before the reserve was established, and this value has been maintained even in the years of open hunting. Just think of the nesting of the ferruginous duck, in progress for decades, or the appearance of the marbled duck, which took place during multi-year series of open hunting, as well as the settlement of the sultan, which took place during periods of permitted hunting.
The hunt takes place from October to the end of January or for only 4 months out of 12 with special rules in force in Natura2000 areas, and can therefore coexist with the presence and frequentation of the marshes by the avifauna. Federcaccia is promoting, together with local associations, a balanced use of the area with marshes open to further regulated hunting, and others closed as refuge areas.
Our philosophy is coexistence with all the stakeholders of the marshes, we can get along, because everyone, hunters, fishermen, ornithologists, bird watchers have the same thing at heart: the natural conservation of the marshes and the birdlife that populates them. We hope that LIPU will also be able to converge on this proposal.
(3 October 2015)
Hunting Federation
You May Also Like ..
