Crowdfunding campaign donates 10,000 trees to Pantelleria

Palermo - Two months since the launching of the extraordinary crowdfunding campaign for the recovery and reforestation of approx. 10-15 hectares of land on the Island of Pantelleria (100 to 700 trees per hectare), which was destroyed by arson in May 2016, more than 32,000 euros have been raised. This is thanks to the contribution of citizens and three national companies: Terna, EcoTyre e Naturalmente Organic Cosmetic.

The extraordinary campaign, which will end in March 2018, is one of the major fundraising operations ever conducted in Italy to support the enviroment. It was designed and implemented by the Comitato Parchi per Kyoto association, in conjunction with the Municipality of Pantelleria, Federparchi-EuroParc Italia, Kyoto Club, Legambiente, Marevivo and the Department of Agrarian Sciences and Forestry of the University of Palermo. The arson attack that occurred in May 2016 and destroyed 600 hectares (approx 10 percent of the island's surface area), is considered one of the most devastating events of the past 35 years.

Following this catastrophic fire, the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, established Pantelleria National Park on July 28, 2016. It is Sicily's first national park and the 24th in Italy. The planting of the trees will begin in the autumn this year. In cooperation with the Agrarian Sciences and Forestry Department of the University of Palermo, native species already present in Pantelleria have been selected in order to respect the local biodiversity. Rare or endangered species, such as the Aleppo pine, the maritime pine, holm oaks, Mediterranean maquis shrubs and plants, have privileged status and will be followed up for five years.

The scheduling of further actions will continue in the burnt areas with log extraction activities for a better use of biomass. Already 80 grants from local citizens and firms have been made to the crowdfunding campaign. Thanks to the Terna Group, one of the largest European energy transmission companies, there will be the repopulation of 200 trees. Terna has been collaborating with the Municipality of Pantelleria and S.Med.E on a broader project, seeking to turn Pantelleria into a "Smart Island". This would involve a pattern of sustainability and cutting-edge technology, capable of generating economic and environmental benefits for the territory, enhancing the utilisation of clean energy sources while reducing the use of fossil fuels.