Building on the already established excellence in marine and forest ecosystem studies, the program aims to give further impetus to the development of projects that address cross-cutting issues to the challenges of sustainable economic development and climate change.
With regard to the marine environment, the program intends to continue research on marine megafauna in the Mediterranean, strengthening its connections with the cross-cutting themes of risk mitigation and ecosystem protection. Some ongoing research is already positioned in this perspective: this is the case of studies on the impact of ship traffic on cetacean populations, observation and mapping of marine ecosystem biodiversity with innovative technologies (such as satellite tagging, biologging and eDNA) and the role of cetaceans as bioindicators.
Regarding the forest environment, with a view to a close link with fire risk, the program is pursuing projects based on the dual axis of modeling-satellite monitoring (relying on CIMA Research Foundation’s RISICO and PROPAGATOR models) of the ignition conditions to investigate the connections between risk reduction strategies and productive management of the forest resource. Initial research on forest biodiversity patterns, which can be analyzed through machine learning techniques, originating from different forest management strategies but clearly impacting fire spread dynamics, is already promising.
The program welcomes within it projects with visible actions and results on the use of Nature Based Solutions in risk reduction and on quantifying the benefits of risk reduction within a broader quantification of ecosystem services. This may open new research fronts on the issues of risk, environmental sustainability and resilience of urban environments. Finally, in synergy with the Multi-Risk Assessment and Data Informed Policies program, the connections between natural hazards and crisis phenomena such as conflict, migration and pandemics are investigated.