How much biodiversity lives in the seabed of Western Liguria, and how is it possible to discover and protect it?

These are the questions that the Bordighera Blu Park project team tried to answer, as guests on Tuesday 9 April at the Sanremo Yacht Club.

The evening with dinner and conference, organized by the Sanremo Yacht Club and the Sanremo Sea Consulate, featured Franco Borgogno, journalist and science communicator, and the biologist Marina Monica Previati, creators of the educational and environmental project Bordighera Blu Park.

With evocative underwater images, the story of the project, carried out by the EuropeanResearchInstitute, and created with the support of the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation as part of the Simbiosi call in collaboration with the Municipality of Bordighera, unfolded through the exploration of three specific areas.

Capo Sant’Ampelio, an area known for its beauty and the southernmost point of all Liguria, but also the underwater areas of “I Tuvi” and “Le Bianche”, characterized by a very rich biodiversity, with rare and protected species including some gorgonians.

Bordighera Blu Park carries out its communication activities precisely to increase knowledge of the Ligurian coastal marine environment and thus activate, in tourists but also in citizens themselves, the awareness of its importance for every aspect of human life. The specific objectives of the project are in fact to safeguard, protect and enhance these splendid areas, each characterized by different depths and accessibility, and with biodiversity assets to be discovered and protected.

The project was warmly welcomed by the organizer of the evening, the Consul of the Sea Giovanni Manuguerra, and by the large audience, which also saw the presence of the president of the Yacht Club Sanremo Beppe Zaoli, the Honorary President of the Consulate Gustavo Ottolenghi and the city councilor Dr. Sara Tonegutti.

With a view to learning to increasingly protect our sea while respecting its richness, biodiversity and centrality for man, there was also a focus on plastic from a sustainable perspective thanks to the explanations of Franco Borgogno, former author of the volume “ A sea of plastic” (Nutrimenti, ) which analyzes the problem of plastic pollution, allowing us to develop awareness of its diffusion and thus explore possible solutions. Questions and discussions enriched the conference, confirming the centrality of themes also shared by the organizers and the Consuls of the Sea.

Yacht Club Sanremo invites all interested parties to follow its channels to find out the dates of the next meetings.