Showcasing rewilding efforts in the Central Apennines, the new website will connect people with wild nature and help realise the area’s rewilding vision.
Enhancing rewilding
Located a short drive from Rome, the Central Apennines are the wild heart of Italy. This majestic range of limestone peaks reaches an altitude of almost 3,000 metres, boasting caves and canyons, some of Europe’s oldest beech forests, and a wide range of grasslands. Rewilding here is focused on the development of wildlife corridors, as well as measures to promote harmonious human-wildlife coexistence – this includes the development of local nature-based economies.
Today’s launch of a new Rewilding Apennines website will bring Italian and international audiences even closer to the Central Apennines rewilding area. Showcasing the work of the Rewilding Apennines team, as well as news and stunning photography related to some of the area’s most charismatic wildlife species and landscapes, the bilingual (Italian-English) site will inform and inspire those looking to learn more about rewilding. It will also outline rewilding’s wide-ranging benefits and why we need to scale it up.
“I’m really looking forward to the positive impact this new website will have on rewilding, both in general terms and also on our own rewilding efforts,” says the Rewilding Apennines team leader Mario Cipollone. “By raising awareness in Italy and across the world, it will encourage individuals, organisations, and potential investors to join the rewilding movement.”
Enterprise development
The Central Apennines are home to such iconic species as the Marsican brown bear, grey wolf, Apennine chamois, red deer, golden eagle and griffon vulture. With rewilding efforts aiding wildlife comeback, nature-based tourism here is now on the rise, with a growing number of people visiting and staying in the area. This benefits local communities economically. The new website will provide information for those looking to travel to the Central Apennines to explore its fantastic wild nature.
The Rewilding Apennines team are also looking to help as many local entrepreneurs as possible start or grow a business based on rewilding principles, and to partner with organisations that can provide resources and skills to advance rewilding.
“The new website will give our team a dedicated space in which to outline our enterprise development vision for the Central Apennines,” says Rewilding Apennines Enterprise Officer Valerio Reale. “We are very keen to engage with anyone wants to support our efforts and are looking to develop a section of the site for potential investors. This will not only add value to our work, but should inspire more companies to become involved with rewilding.”
Several of Rewilding Europe’s eight rewilding areas have now launched their own website, with the launch of the site for the Rhodope Mountains imminent.