Italy’s fifth national report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (2009-2013)

The Fifth Report on the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity was prepared by the Italian Ministry for the Environment in April 2014. The starting point for the elaboration was the first Report on the implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategy (NBS) in the years 2011-12. The year 2010 was the “International Year of Biodiversity”, during which the COP approved the Strategic Plan 2011-2020, together with the 20 Aichi Targets and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources. The Third Report on the implementation of the EU Habitat Directive has shown that anthropic threats will tend to be stable in a short and medium term. Italy is, probably, the Country with most important biodiversity in Europe. The negative effects of ecosystem changes are mainly caused by human activities. In recent years, there have been significant steps forward, especially in the field of information sharing between stakeholders and policy makers. The “Biodiversity” theme is also included among the objectives of Italy’s policies on international cooperation, implemented through the Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS) of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.