Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
Environment: 1.5 tons of waste removed from the Gulf of La Spezia
Special seabed cleaning campaign promoted by Fineco and LifeGate, in collaboration with Smart Bay Santa Teresa conducted by ENEA and Verdeacqua, Gruppo Operativo Underacquei (GOS) of the Navy and Municipality of Lerici.
One and a half tons of waste were recovered from the seabed of the Santa Teresa Bay within the Gulf of La Spezia during a special clean-up campaign promoted by Fineco and LifeGate as part of the Water Defenders Alliance, in collaboration with Smart Bay Santa Teresa and conducted by ENEA, Verdeacqua and the Gruppo Operativo Subacquei (GOS) of the Navy with the support of the Municipality of Lerici. Various types of waste were collected, including bulky waste from the 2018 and 2019 storm sturges like the sunken remains of a self-propelled pier, a "signal beacon" - that is, a large rigid buoy - and several truck tyres, which are usually used as "low-cost fenders". Over the years, the fury of the storms has moved large and heavy debris, pushing it into the Santa Teresa Bay precisely because of its strategic positioning.
The bay hosts the first Smart Bay in Italy, a natural laboratory for research, technology, sustainable tourism and mollusk farming thanks to the collaboration among ENEA, Cnr, INGV, Municipality of Lerici, Scuola di Mare Santa Teresa and Cooperativa Mitilicoltori Associati, united in making the Smart Bay Santa Teresa a laboratory to combat climate change and show the way for protecting marine biodiversity.
The Santa Teresa Smart Bay is among the first scientific partners of the Water Defenders Alliance, a project promoted by LifeGate with the aim of protecting Italian waters from three serious threats: plastic pollution, hydrocarbon pollution and the fragility of natural habitats. The alliance comprises companies, citizens, ports, marine protected areas, institutions, universities, associations and research bodies.
From the beginning Fineco has become a "Water Defender" and since 2021 has adopted the best technological solutions present in Italy to capture floating waste within Italian ports and marine areas from north to south. This year, as the challenges proposed by LifeGate as part of the new Water Defenders Alliance initiative increased, Fineco has decided, among the first in Italy, to protect Italian waters becoming a "Water Defender".
For Smart Bay Santa Teresa, the removal of large waste has an environmental and scientific value: in addition to improving the conditions and quality of the marine environment, the risk that the sophisticated underwater sensors located in those waters for research projects may be damaged by the movements of this large debris, will be reduced
The initiative will also have an educational impact for the students staying in the bay and the users in various seasons of the year. The size, weight and volume of this large waste make this operation much more complex than cleaning the seabed, in fact the underwater activities were managed by the COMSUBIN Underwater Operations Group (GOS) of the Navy, stationed in La Spezia, which secured the material and then entrusted it to SEPOR which boarded on its vessel.
Recovery on land and proper disposal in landfill was coordinated by the GCE, a company specialized in the collection and management of hazardous and non-hazardous, urban and special waste, with proven skills and long-standing expertise.
The entire operation was documented by Verdeacqua dive operators, close collaborators of LifeGate within the Water Defenders Alliance. This pool of high-level and transversal skills will allow Smart Bay Santa Teresa to continue its activities and broaden projects of international importance inspired by the principles of Nature Based Solution (NBS), Habitat Restoration and climate change mitigation
Paolo Di Grazia, Deputy General Manager and Head of Global Business Fineco: “We believe every contribution is key to manage complex issues such as the protection of the territory, but the support of specialized operators -like those committed to the La Spezia operation- is crucial. The result was the creation of a concrete initiative to protect our seas, which clearly reflects the approach adopted by Fineco to promote environmental sustainability actions".
Enea Roveda, CEO of LifeGate: “The Water Defenders Alliance has demonstrated how alliances among the various members of civil society are fundamental and decisive for bringing about a positive change in our country, in defense of our seas, key for our survival. A large network of actors has come together for a common objective, which has been achieved and which will have the power to visibly improve the health of our sea in a bay representative of our biodiversity richness."
Chiara Lombardi, ENEA researcher: “This day is for us at Smart Bay Santa Teresa, a very important milestone. First of all, the attention brought to this bay, a little natural jewel of the Gulf of La Spezia, and the involvement of important actors who work in the sea of this Gulf and who, together with us, take care of it. Finally, thanks to this deep cleanup, we will be able to launch important projects to monitor the sea and restore marine ecosystems to regenerate the bay and we hope the entire Gulf in the future".
Emilio Mancuso, marine biologist, Verdeacqua president and LifeGate collaborator: "I have been following the developments of Smart Bay Santa Teresa since the beginning and seeing all these high-level professionals tend to it today gives me the joy of imagining what and how many wonderful ideas could be implemented now, with a positive impact on the territory and on us who the more we learn from seas the more we are prepared for our future".
Giampaolo Consoli, Commander of the Underwater Operational Group (GOS) of the Navy: “The contribution to all initiatives promoting the protection and safeguarding of the marine environment is something inbred in our profession. We consider ourselves double enthusiasts of the sea, first as sailors, then as divers who live it in its total dimension. We are aware of being guests of the sea and we are committed to respecting it as best we can."
Leonardo Paoletti, mayor of Lerici: "Environment protection is at the center of our agenda. Smart Bay is a flagship for our community and an example for a future in which economy, society and environment can coexist without being subordinated to each other. Every step towards this direction and the achievement of the Smart Bay system stem from the cooperation conducted by our Municipality and the other partners for years ".
Paolo Varrella, President of the Mussel Farmers Consortium: "Mussel farmers suffer the effects of climate change daily: extreme weather conditions, increasingly warm seas and predation by sea bream. The Smart Bay Santa Teresa is of fundamental importance, with projects linked to data collection and the rebalancing of ecosystems creates the foundations for a more diversified and sustainable Gulf. For years the consortium has conducted various activities like experimenting with biocompostable mussel farming nets, reducing the ecological footprint, consistently with the objectives of Smart Bay Santa Teresa”.
For further information on Water Defenders Alliance:
https://waterdefenders.it – il video del progetto
For further information and interviews on Smart Bay Santa Teresa:
Per additional information on Smart Bay Santa Teresa:
Erica Gabrielli (PhD) and Sofia Lorenzini (Master) engaged in the study project of the flat oyster (O.edulis) from the Gulf of La Spezia. The project, which originates from Smart Bay S. Teresa and is included in the activities for the PNRR RAISE aimed at the regeneration of port areas through Nature-Based Solutions, will also have a study site within the bay of S. Teresa. The cleaning operation of the bay conducted on May 16th made it possible to remove bulky waste and create an environment in which to start future experiments on the flat oyster