Site Summary

The natural landscape is extremely varied, dominated by the Mediterranean vegetation rich in aroma and colour but it also presents some unusual elements for an island such as the chestnut woods which can be found on the mountains. The flora is rich with endemisms, that is species with an exclusive distribution in this enclosed area: they are Sardinian-Corsican endemisems which represent the conservative component of a flora which was largely diffused in the olden days, like Corsican Saffron (Crocus corsicus), furthermore some exclusive endemisms are present in the Archipelago, which have distinguished themselves due to the insular condition , such as the Monte Capanne Fleur-de-lis, the Elban Viola and the Archipelago Snap-dragon.

A great variety of wild Orchids of all colours that blossom on the Elba island and, in different times of the year from the hedges of the roads to the plains, from the highest peaks to the glades in the woods and in the Mediterranean shrub , their shapes and colour are always able to amaze for their extraordinary beauty.
In Spring, rocks are clad in their best dress and the grey granite is covered in cheerful colours ; from the low, golden cushions of thorny Broom (Genista desoleana), dotted with purple, mauve and white of the Monte Capanne Viola (Viola corsica ilvensis),that grow beneath the shelter of it’s thorns to the violet of the Capanne Fleur de lis (Centaurea dissecta var. ilvensis) and the Crocuses (Crocus biflorus, etruscus e corsicus); from the Appennine’s Anenome’s candid white (Anemone apennina)and the tiny Romulee (Romulea ramiflora), to the orange tonesof the Lili of San Giovanni (Lilium bulbiferum var. croceum) and of the wild Tulip (Tulipa sylvestris var. australis). On the east side of the island on the Volterraio , Anemones, Crocuses and Romulee are accompanied by an other endemic Fleur-de- lis, the Centaurea aplolepa Aethalia, which covers the rocks along with Linaria capraria and the thorny Broom.

In the humid soils there are the yellow blossoms of the rare swamp Iris (Iris pseudacorus) along with the Junqil (Narcissus tazetta) to brighten the landscape.
Along the coast the Flora covers every free space of soil : the Crithmum maritimum, the yellow of the Enula bacicci Inula crithmoides, the lilac of the wild Matthiola tricuspidata and later on in the year the Aster tripolium all colour the poor , stony soils ;while the rocky cliffs dress themselves with the golden blossoms of the Maritime Grounsel (Senecio bicolor sbsp. Cineraria), with Jupiter’s beard (Anthyllis barba-jovis), with Euforbia arborea (Euphorbia dendroides) and Helichrysum italicum, which blend in with the pale lilac of flowers of the Linaria capraria, an endemic plant and with the Limonium ilvae, present on every island with a subspecies.

From the sand of the dunes, plants covered by dense down, by thorns or by fleshy leaves to defend themselves from the heat, offer an unexpected show of shapes and colours : among the Marine Camomile cushions (Anthemis maritima) and Cistus, yellow flowers of Othantus maritimus, Crucianella maritima, Sand Poppy (Glaucium flavum) and Maritime Clover (Medicago marina) blossom; the lilac tones of the Gillyflower (Matthiola sinuata), the sand Soldanella (Calystegia soldanella), and the Sea Rocket (Cakile maritima) and of the tiny and precious Malcomia ramosissima; the white flowers of the beautiful Sea Lily (Pancratium maritimum) and Echinophora spinosa while the Eryngium maritimum amazes for it’s thorny leaves and unusual blossoms.

The islands of the National Park functions as a large raft in the middle of the Tyrrhenean where migrators crossing the Mediterranean land on their annual coming and going from Africa to Europe. They are millions of small birds that choose to lead this nomadic life style: Spring migration is explosive, birds take whistle stops then carry on with their northerly flight up to their nest-building sites that can reach polar latitudes. These crossings are spectacular because a great number of the sparrow family birds land on the island taking advantage of the wind conditions trying to anticipate perturbations.
The different species come in waves, in March precocious small Warblers land then the large Warblers and the Redstars; In April the Blackcaps, the Nightingales, the Flycatchers, followed by the Whitethroats, Sub-alpine Warblers, Melodious Warblers and the Spotted Flycatchers. They don’t all proceed with their journey some choose to stay the whole Summer in order to nest-build. In doing so they have to share territories with small, sedentary birds like the Sardinian and Dartford Warblers that reside here all year round. A common denominator for all of them is the necessity to find water, pollen, insects, berries according to the requirements of their journey and for a successful reproduction. These birds aren’t easy to see but their sounds are unmistakable, they dot the spring shrubs with insistent calls and chants that trace invisible boundaries to defend their nests.

The big migrators like predators and great gliders fly at high quotes and slide towards the peninsula. Amongst the settling species there are various marine birds, some of which are exclusive to the Mediterranean. The most rare and of great conservation importance is the Audonii Seagull who’s populations are declining in Italy hence the effort to protect this species. The few present colonies on some islands are occupied with discontinuity also due to the growing presence of the Mediterranean Seagull that shows an alimentary behaviour largely influenced by the presence of waste dumps. There are therefore the Cory’s Shearwater and more rare Manx Shearwater, two Shearwaters that pass their days in the open sea taking advantage of the waves backwash to make provisions of fish. In the nest-building time of year they come to shore along the most sheltered rocky cliffs where they lay their eggs in the deepest passages. One can observe the Shag with it’s unfolded wings on the rocks, when disturbed it dives to then re-surfaces at a considerable distance, it also comes into the harbours, it scours under water while it floats amongst the waves then disappears. Along the cliffs one can observe the dive of the Peregrin Falcon and it’s acrobatic evolutions while fighting against the Mediterranean Gull and the black Crow who ground their alimentary ability on the theft of preys stolen from other flying birds or from nest raids.

In order to let people know the protected area and it’s activities, the Park has created some Visiting Centres: the Houses of the Park, where exposure routes are presented along with educational animation to promote a culture of respect and of environmental protection.

The sites present didactic-exhibiting contents which lead to the visitor’s interaction who can approach the knowledge of flora and fauna in the Park’s environment.

At excursionists disposition there is a network of signed routes which can be covered on foot, by horse or by mountain bike. Concerning the accompanying activities there are Park Guides available who can facilitate the comprehension and the knowledge of nature and sights, illustrating routes in underlining the themes of local culture.

The Arcipelago Toscano National Park’s territory, with a big marine area all around, has been recognized since 2003 as Biosphere Reserve (Riserva della Biosfera “Isole di Toscana) under the rules of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme (MaB).

Conservation Summary

Outcome of EAGL Vote on Site
Consensus

EAGL Summary 
Foreword The application of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park (ATNP) for evaluate its inclusion in the Green List was discussed by experts of EAGL Italy on December 02, 2020, in a meeting held online (due to Covid-19 restrictions). The 50 indicators of the GL Standard, to establish whether the criteria have been met, were assessed based on the following elements: • available documents reported by the candidate on Compass, • integrations requested on specific indicators, • contribution received from the stakeholders consultation, • first-hand impressions obtained by the EAGL representatives during the site visit, held on 16-18 November 2020. The EAGL members who were not able to participate to the meeting were consulted individually and their statement of vote have been achieved by email.

Component 1: Good Governance The site’s governance structure is clearly defined and, as requested and foreseen the national legislation, the local communities is active part of the bodies involved in management decisions. Stakeholders’ opinions confirmed the transparency and the involvement of the management body of the local communities. Based on the documentation provided by ATNP, observations made during the site visit, and meetings with stakeholders, confirming EAGL members considered that the site meets all three criteria of this component.

Component 2: Sound Design and Planning The first 3 criteria (2.1 – 2.2 – 2.3) were positive overall from the initial documental analysis, while greater attention was paid to the socio-economic context included in criterion 2.4, for which it was asked whether an Economic and Social Development Plan had been drawn up to evaluate the effects of conservation actions on society. The insights conducted have allowed to positively evaluating this aspect too, in particular in relation to the current phase of renewal by the Park of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas. This tool in particular that comes from the consultation with the territory, respect to tourism and its economic effects, minimizing the impact of the economy on conservation. In addition, the meetings with the stakeholders allowed noticing the attention of the Park towards the realities constituted by the different islands composing the archipelago and their socio-economic components. Based on the evidences produced by the candidate, the integration requested and the site visit observations, EAGL considers that the site meets all four criteria of the component.

Component 3: Effective Management The documentation provided by the Park, the verifications carried out during the site-visits and the meetings with the researchers for the environmental component and with the stakeholders, for the socio-economic one, allowed evaluating the full compliance with the seven criteria required by this component. Visitor Centres, information points and panelling have been created to inform and orient tourists and visitors. At the same time, the Park offers a wide range of educational activities and events to raise awareness of the natural and social values of the Park and its inhabitants. The Park finances and is partner of several scientific projects and collaborations with research institutions in order to carry out specific studies on animal and plant biodiversity, marine habitats and species. Results of scientific studies and monitoring show the efficacy on the management measures and are considered in the planning of conservation strategy. For criterion 3.5 on the effectiveness of the surveillance, a meeting was conducted with the representatives of the law enforcement agencies, which are 4: Coastal Guard and Guardia di Finanza that operate mainly for the marine part, and Carabinieri Forestali and Carabinieri Biodiversity Service (in charge of the management of Montecristo Island) mainly for the land part. The exchanges that have taken place during the meeting have revealed an excellent harmony and collaboration between the different control forces, favoured by the Park. There is also an excellent video surveillance system with more than 70 cameras covering all the islands of the archipelago and allowing both the Park and the police to see images in real time on the monitors of their offices and act accordingly in a short time. With regard to criterion 3.6, analyses and evaluations of user’s satisfaction, monitoring of activities with school groups and inclusion activities for people with disabilities were provided. During the site visit, it was also possible to visit and verify the facilities of some visitor centres and guided paths. Also for criterion 3.7 it was possible to verify the existence of several research projects aimed at conservation, positively evaluated. Based on the evidences produced by the candidate, the integration requested and the site visit observations, EAGL considers that the site meets all seven criteria of the component.

Component 4: Successful Conservation Outcomes All the criteria of this last component were positively evaluated thanks to the complete documentation uploaded for the individual indicators and subsequently confirmed by the evidence during the on-site meeting. The Park has financed studies both on marine environment (status of phanerogam meadows and coralligenous benthic assemblage) and on species of insects and bats that show an improvement in the conditions of these populations compared to datasets of about twenty years ago. The positive effects on biodiversity following the deratization and eradication of invasive alien plant species have also been highlighted. In addition, within the EU Girepam project, ATNP has carried out specific studies on the evaluation of ecosystem services related to underwater use and bathing in the islands using the “willingness to pay” method. As far as the cultural aspects are concerned, the Park has published numerous publications and has created information centres in each single islands that deal with the different themes of conservation, always trying to recover abandoned historical-architectural structures (in Capraia Island the ancient fish-salting, in Elba Island the ancient Medici shipyard, etc.). Based on the evidences produced by the candidate, the integration requested and the site visit observations, EAGL considers that the site meets all three criteria of the component. Conclusions and Decision EAGL Italy underlines the outstanding efforts of the ATNP to conserve nature, maintain traditions, support sustainable economic grow and evidence ecosystem services. Due to the initial phase of the evaluation of ecosystem services an Action Plan to declare future actions, milestones and threshold levels on this item has been asked to be prepared in the next 10-12 months (see uploaded file named “PNAT Action Plan”). The work done by the Park to respond to the GL Standard is experienced by all the Park staff (managers, rangers, researchers, guides, volunteers) as a process for improvement, not a point of arrival but a way to work also in the future on a daily basis in the sense of efficiency and effectiveness. Based on these evidences and the documents analysed, the experts of EAGL Italy positively support the inclusion of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park in the Green List. All EAGL members voted in favour.

Reviewer Summary 

The Site submitted detailed information in relation to compliance with Green List Standard requirements. The relevant documentation is available on Compass. The EAGL requested additional information on several aspects, which the Arcipelago Toscano National Park provided. Some of the aspects relating to additional evidence the EAGL requested were also verified during the site visit. With regards to compliance evaluation relating to Component 4 of the GL standard, conclusions were reached and a positive decision was taken, based partly on systems and processes, also on studies that are currently taking place but, in some cases, still in the absence of confirmed outcomes. In order to follow up on the aspects where full compliance with the Green List standard could not be detected, the EAGL requested that the Arcipelago Toscano National park prepares an Action Plan. The stakeholder meeting organized during the site visit by the designated EAGL members was not conducted in confidence, as one national park staff was in charge of technical aspects relating to the virtual meeting and attended the meeting. Additionally, the answers to the stakeholder survey conducted by the EAGL were sent first to the applicant PA, who forwarded them to the EAGL. In order to ensure the independence of the EAGL evaluation, the Reviewer recommended that stakeholder consultation be conducted in confidence without the presence of the evaluated PA. The EAGL replied that a dedicated EAGL e-mail address would help for this purpose, otherwise the EAGL members would need to use their personal or institutional e-mail address to conduct stakeholder consultation. The Reviewer forwarded the EAGL request to GLPCA staff. The stakeholder virtual meeting had a very good level of participation of a wide range of local stakeholders. The quorum for decision was confirmed and also the absence of Conflict of Interests (CoI) was confirmed for the EAGL members responsible for the evaluation and also for the EAGL decision-making meeting. The EAGL made a positive decision, unanimously. The EAGL had some issues with regards to some members not being operational and not being very responsive. Based on a request from the EAGL Chair, three EAGL members formally left the Italian EAGL during November 2020. With regards to the indicator found by the EAGL not to be in full compliance with GL requirements (4.2.2), the Archipelago Toscano National Park presented in February 2021 an Action Plan. The Italian EAGL will check the implementation of the proposed Action Plan according to the stated timeline.

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