Nature protection and biodiversity - Drivers and pressures (Italy)

The primary threats to biodiversity are human activities and the growing demand for natural resources and ecosystem services.

For instance, for vertebrates, of all the indirect influences of human origin, the most frequent types of threats (50.5 % of the species at risk) involve the transformation or modification of natural habitats (A2), while poaching and illegal fishing (B7) constitute the primary type of threat among the direct influences of human origin (Fig. 1).

Other causes of impact are those tied to hunting, which can be practised in more than 62 % of the national territory[1], and fishing, with approximately 5 % of the total European catch.

Also wood supply constitutes a factor of pressure specific to forest ecosystems, but in recent years, with a reduced rate and a decreased average area of cuttings.

The introduction of potentially invasive alien species constitutes another threat to biodiversity. In Italy, data available report 2 029 alien species of which plants are about 50 %, followed by terrestrial invertebrates (33 %) and other groups (Fig. 2).