(AGENPARL) – Rome, 21 May 2024
(AGENPARL) – Tue 21 May 2024 Press release
05/21/2024 Siena
The global mission of the National Center for the Future of Biodiversity In the prestigious international magazine “The Lancet” a call to action for companies and institutions: biodiversity is essential for collective well-being.
The University of Siena participates in the study with Spoke 3, coordinated by Professor Francesco Frati
Faced with the global biodiversity crisis, Italy leads the efforts of conservation, monitoring and restoration of natural contexts with the National Center for the Future of Biodiversity (National Biodiversity Future Centre- NBFC), coordinated by the CNR and financed by the Recovery Plan and Resilience Next Generation – EU. The National Biodiversity Future Center is one of five national centers dedicated to frontier research involving institutions and companies throughout Italy.
The University of Siena participates in the National Biodiversity Future Center as home to Spoke 3, coordinated by Professor Francesco Frati, and focused on terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity, and as affiliated to Spoke 2, focused on marine biodiversity.
Positioned in the heart of the Mediterranean, with hub in Palermo – with over 2000 researchers and 48 partner institutions throughout the Italian territory, including universities, research centers, foundations and companies, committed to studying and preserving the ecosystems and biodiversity of our Country – the NBFC is at the forefront of research and innovation to support concrete actions addressing the pressing global challenge of climate change and sustainable development.
The NBFC offers an extensive “call to action”.
It does so on the occasion of World Biodiversity Day (22 May) by the prestigious international journal The Lancet (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00292-7/fulltext?rss= yes) highlighting the close link between biodiversity and health and the urgent need for global cooperation to preserve our natural heritage.
This appeal highlights the Centre’s commitment to research and initiatives vital to the health and future prosperity of our planet, through: the development and implementation of advanced strategies that are sustainable and adaptable to social growth; encouraging the sustainable exploitation of the socio-economic potential of biodiversity through Nature-based Solutions and the creation of new production processes; and using biodiversity to improve human health also through the bioactive compounds that the Mediterranean offers and which can also produce important advances in the pharmaceutical field.
The NBFC center operates in close synergy with the local environmental protection institutions and with companies active in various sectors and which find their primary resource in biodiversity. Among these companies there are also those that research bioactive molecules capable of preventing the onset of multifactorial diseases and psychophysical and metabolic alterations, but also companies that research new foods or sustainable bases for new supplements and cosmetics in biodiversity. In this sense, the conservation of biodiversity is therefore not just a question of management of biological and environmental resources but a component of value for human health and for the economy of the planet.
The work carried out by the National Biodiversity Future Center contributes to global health security, concretely responding to the need to preserve the delicate balance of life on which our planet thrives. The NBFC’s call for action in The Lancet is also evidence of a targeted commitment to achieving the EU’s 2050 resilience target and the Sustainable Development Goals with a holistic approach. NBFC also aims to guide biodiversity management policies and raise public awareness by spreading knowledge. The Lancet initiative is a step forward in the direction of Planetary health, which can ensure the prosperity of the environment and future generations.
Corresponding authors: Hellas Cena, Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia; Massimo Labra, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca.
The other authors: Simonetta Fraschetti, Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II; Gianluca Sara, Department of Earth and Marine Science, Ecology Lab, University of Palermo; Gian Marco Luna, Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology, National Research Council (IRBIM-CNR), Ancona; Mariachiara Chiantore, Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences, University of Genoa; Francesco Frati, Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena; Lorena Rebecchi, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; Donatella Spano, Department of Agriculture Science, University of Sassari; Carlo Calfapietra, Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council, Porano (TR); Maria Chiara Pastore, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Polytechnic of Milan; Gloria Bertoli, Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, National Research Council, Segrate (MI); Danilo Porro, Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, National Research Council, Segrate (MI); Isabella Saggio, Sapienza University of Rome; Giuseppe Gigli, Institute of Nanotechnology, National Research Council, Lecce/University of Salento; Maria Carmela Basile, National Research Council, Rome; Riccardo Coratella, National Biodiversity Future Center, Rome; Alberto Di Minin, Institute of Management, Sant’Anna School, Pisa; Luigi Fiorentino, President of National Biodiversity Future Center, Rome; Maria Chiara Carrozza, President National Research Council, Rome; Flavia Guzzo, Department of Biology, University of Verona; Stefano Martellos, Department of Life Science, University of Triste; Andrea Galimberti, Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Milano-Bicocca; Telmo Pievani, Department of Biology, University of Padua; Rachele De Giuseppe, Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia.
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