ARSIAL - Lazio Regional Agency for Development and Innovation of Agriculture

is a public body, an instrument of the Lazio Region; it promotes the development and innovation of Lazio's agricultural and agro-industrial system. It has inherited the experience and heritage of the Lazio Agricultural Development Authority (ERSAL), which in turn took over at the end of the 1970s from the Maremma Authority which, starting from the 1950s, oversaw the measures provided for by post-war agrarian reform for the territories of Lazio and Tuscany. The Agency acts as a connection between the productive system and the world of research, operating in particular in the adaptation and transfer of process and product innovations, aimed at improving the competitiveness of companies, the quality of products, the protection and the enhancement of agro-ecosystems. It carries out on the regional territory supervisory functions on regulated quality production (DOP-IGP-BIO), supporting the spread of organic and low environmental impact crops, the development of brands and quality certification, as well as the protection and enhancement of the native genetic resources. It takes care of the promotion of typical and quality products of the Lazio region, managing the integrated agrometeorological service of the Region, and it is responsible for the promotion, control and supervision of the regional agritourism system.

For more details visit the ARSIAL website www.arsial.it

Comunità Ambiente srl

Comunità Ambiente (CA) founded in 1994 is a company based in Rome which operates in the environmental sector with particular reference to nature conservation and potential sources of funding, in particular of actions, plans and projects for the protection of biodiversity. It is made up of a team of naturalists, biologists, architects and journalists with specific experience in nature conservation, with particular reference to the creation process of the Natura 2000 network. CA has many years of experience in the evaluation, monitoring and management of LIFE projects acquired in participation in naturalistic studies at European level on species and ecosystems, and in national projects for Natura 2000. CA in the GRACE project will be responsible for the production of preparatory studies (scoping study, code of conduct), will participate in dissemination activities (networking, Layman’s report , final conference) and will act as Project Manager and Administrative Manager of the project.

For more information on Comunità Ambiente click here: http://www.comunitambiente.it

FIRAB (Fondazione Italiana per la Ricerca in Agricoltura Biologica e Biodinamica)

Founded in 2008, it mostly works on research and innovation projects funded at regional, national and European level in the fields of organic farming, agroecology, and sustainability of the agri-food system.

FIRAB adopts a participatory approach and the involvement of producers in agricultural research, promoting:

• dialogue between researchers and producers;
• applied research to guide technical choices and investments;
• sustainable rural development based on the involvement of actors;
• innovative models of production, processing and conservation;
• innovative solutions for marketing and distribution;
• the sharing of knowledge of the research results with producers and all final users.

For a more complete overview of the mission of the Foundation and of past and current projects visit: www.firab.it.

In the framework of the GRACE project, FIRAB contributes to the convergence between partners and stakeholders in the identification and enhancement of the opportunities offered by the LIFE Programme. This would lead to increase the sustainability of the Natura 2000 areas covered by the project and to offer tangible opportunities to increase the income for breeders and operators in the livestock and ecotourism chain. More specifically, FIRAB is committed to carrying out a survey on socio-economic aspects related to livestock farming based on extensive grazing, the identification of market opportunities for products and services and to information on the activities of the project to the public and among operators.

Green factor

is an agency that operates in the environmental sector dealing with communication, studies and research in the field of green economy and green jobs, as well as training and career guidance.

Founded in 2011, during its ten years Green factor and its members have carried out studies and environmental communication projects for numerous public bodies and associations including the Regione Lombardia, Regione Calabria, Regione Sicilia, Regione Abruzzo, Regione Toscana, Regione Lazio, Unione delle Province Italiane, ENEA, CNR, Unioncamere Nazionale, Università La Sapienza, Università degli studi di Padova, Università di Trento, Legambiente, AzzeroCO2, Green Cross Italia, Fondazione per lo sviluppo sostenibile, CTS, etc.

It has a site dedicated to environmental information: www.greenfactoronline.it

Sapienza University of Rome

is a public Educational and Research Institution, and the largest University in Europe for number of students. It is organised in 63 Departments and 11 Faculties. The project activities will be mainly implemented by the Department. of Environmental Biology (DEB), which is composed of experts in different levels of plant diversity, who have accumulated considerable research experience in coordinating a wide range of projects at both national and international scale. Research carried out by DEB working group has focused on ecological issues regarding the following subjects:

a) Study of energy flows and of the circulation of matter in Mediterranean and Apennines ecosystems;

b) Studies of global change through the characterization of morphological and biochemical-physiological responses to the atmospheric pollutants and to increase of atmospheric CO2, and their modelling;

c) Evaluation of environmental quality through the study of bio-indication and bio-monitoring in natural and urban ecosystems;

d) Development of experimental approaches aiming to produce thematic maps of vegetation and environmental quality through remote sensing and field surveys (GIS and landscape analysis);

e) Analysis of ecosystem services, with particular reference to the mitigation of air pollutants by vegetation;

f) Development and applying of innovative methodologies for the elaboration of both in-situ and ex-situ conservation strategies for rare and endangered plant species and habitats at both national and international levels;

g) Analysis and meta-analysis of plant pathogens movements consequent to climate change.

DEB has also been involved in a project aimed at the identification of the areas covered by the Habitats of Community Importance in Italy (PON Governance e Capacità Istituzionale 2014/2020 CCI: 2014IT05M2OP002), and has produced, for the first time in the country, the map of all habitats, organized in a specific geodatabase.