1991 - 2006. EUROBATS celebrates its 15th anniversary

1991-2006 • EUROBATS celebrates its 15 th anniversary
Italy joins the EUROBATS family!
by the Italian Ministry for Environment and Territory
Italy became a Party to the EUROBATS
Agreement last year when, in May 200 ,
after a lengthy legislative process, the
Italian Parliament finally approved the law
enabling the country to join and subscribe
to EUROBATS. The instrument of ratification
was deposited in October 200 ; representing
an important milestone in the progress
of bat conservation in Italy.
According to present knowledge, we
have 37 bat taxa occurring on Italian territory,
but historical data seems to confirm a
general decrease of cave-dwelling species,
though with some exceptions. However,
data is scarce and not widely distributed. In
Italy, the main threat to bats is loss of habitats
and roosting sites. In addition, pollution
and the general use of pesticides in agricultural
areas contribute to a reduction of the
quantity of prey available to bats.
Another serious problem results from
lack of knowledge on the part of some
administrative bodies of how critical the
situation of bat species is. This lack of official
awareness makes it particularly difficult
to plan a national strategy for the protection
of bats.
In Italy several bat conservation projects
have been carried out on a regional or smaller
scale. These perform a very necessary
function by remedying lack of knowledge
and preserving some areas from actions
that could damage bat populations, breeding
colonies or hibernacula. In addition, a
number of projects undertake informationspreading
and awareness-raising activities.
We note about 7 projects carried out between
1994 and 2006. Most of them have
focused on northern and central Italy, but
obviously this pattern does not correspond
to that of bat distribution. Many projects
have been funded by protected areas or by
small local administrations.
Until now these projects have constituted
the biggest source of information on
the status and trends of bat populations
in Italy. A comprehensive national strategy
is clearly necessary. Becoming a Party
to EUROBATS gave the Italian Ministry for
the Environment the opportunity at last to
promote and finance several research and
other initiatives related to bat management
and conservation.
The framework of the EUROBATS Agreement
made it possible for the Italian Ministry
for the Environment to draw up an agreement
for collaboration with the University
of Insubria and the Italian Chiropterologist
Research Group (GIRC). The agreement
aims at the protection of bats roosting in
historic buildings, as well as the setting up
of a system of permits for bat captures and
bat ringing that conforms to international
standards and is based on centralised management
of a new database for captured
bats.
Increasing knowledge and improving
conservation
In our opinion it is essential to facilitate and
strengthen the collaboration between two
different fields — biological conservation
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