The Ticino Valley Park covers an area of about 91,800 hectares, part of an area recognized by UNESCO as a Man and Biosphere (MAB) Reserve. It is a program to promote on a scientific basis a balanced relationship between people and environment through biodiversity protection and sustainable development. The Park is home to an immense variety of ecosystems, making it a biodiversity asset unrivaled in the entire Po Valley. It is the most important ecological corridor connecting the Alps and the Apennines. Among the typical deciduous forests – consisting of oak, hornbeam, poplar, willow and other species – one can observe many animals. For example, foxes, weasels, badgers, skunks, and beech martens, as many as 327 species of birds, among which aquatic ones stand out: purple heron, kingfisher, and moorhen. For some time, wolves have also reappeared, using the Park to reach the Alps. We will carry out forest improvements, aimed at eradicating invasive exotic species and boosting native ones. In addition, we will plant new hedges, rows and shrubs to increase the ecological connectivity of this wonderful Park.
This project is co-funded by the Lombardy Region’s Biodiversity and Climate Call (BioClima) and supported by Fondazione Cariplo. Bioclima is an initiative created within the framework of the Lombardy Plan and the LIFE GESTIRE 2020 project that aims to create public-private financing models to catalyze investment in biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation projects in Lombardy’s forests and protected areas.