Cinque Terre National Park

Even though the Mediterranean flora have obvious features, there are many microclimates often different from each other which created a huge variety of landscapes. There are pine, Aleppo pine, corks and chestnut.[9] Rock and coastal environments produce numerous Mediterranean species such as samphire and sea cineraria. Flora is visible everywhere even as shrub rosemary, thyme, helichrysum and lavender.[9] Also present are several species of trees and succulents clearly visible from many trails.

The environment is conducive to the development of life and habitat of several animal species. Among the birds are the gull, the peregrine falcon and the raven. Among the mammals are the dormouse, weasel, mole, badger, marten, fox and wild boar (whose presence is resented for damage to crops). The reptiles that thrive in the rock are the common wall lizard, the lizard and various snakes such as the rat snake, the grass snake of Aesculapius and the viper; around streams live amphibians like frogs and salamanders.

One of greatest threats to the Cinque Terre region and one the National Park works to address, is land degradation. Today, a large percentage of cultural heritage sites are classified by governmental authorities as exposed to landslide risk. In Italy in particular, whose terrain is 75% mountainous or hilly, 13/36 (36%) of heritage sites are affected by slope instability problems, including the Cinque Terre region.[10]

The landslide activity of a region can be attributed to many factors. According to GNDCI, most current landslides in the Apennines are recently dormant, reactivated with climate change. While this explanation links the problem more to environmental and geological factors, mankind also plays a large role in the problem. Relevantly to Cinque Terre, changes in land use and agricultural practices have drastic effects on landslides and their outcomes. In a comparison of images of Cinque Terre land terracing in 1958 and 2000, there appears a clear increase in soil erosion and degradation of vineyard terraces that is consistent with agriculture abandonment in the 1960s as the main focus of the area shifted to tourism and away from the careful "landscape engineering" of previous centuries.[11] According to city officials, in 1951, about 3,500 acres of Cinque Terre land were cultivated, compared to 275 today.[12]

As land was already in a state of degradation in 2011, terrace abandonment is thought to be a contributing factor to the flash flood disaster of 25 October 2011. After 4 hours of uncharacteristic 22 inches of rain and subsequent flash floods, the towns of Monterosso al Mare and Vernazza were virtually destroyed. The other three cities, due to natural topography and effective draining systems, went mostly undamaged.[13]

For these reasons, one of the foremost agendas of the National Park, is the maintenance and revitalization of the slopes. The value in promoting terracing is two-fold, as it not only addresses landslide control but also recognizes the history and traditions of the villages by bringing back the traditional Cinque Terre vineyards. The "Uncultivated Lands" LIFE Project, co-founded in 2001 by the European Community and the Cinque Terre National Park, seeks to recover the unused terraces and to return them to their previous success for production of Albarola and Vermentino vineyards.[14] One such hill, Corniolo, is featured as not only an educational tool for researchers interested in safe and effective cultivating practices, but also as a "laboratory" to bring back the famed grapes that, in combination, shaped Cinque Terre's reputation as wine producers in the Middle Ages.[15] A sub-project, in cooperation with Agricultura Cinque Terre seeks to do just that, by reintroducing some of the traditional ancient grapes of the region.[15] In addition, the success of "Uncultivated Lands" has been an invaluable model for other areas, such as the UNESCO site of Ifugao, Philippines, who are interested in perfecting and re-establishing thousand-year old cultivation practices within their own communities.[16]

Characteristic coastal stretch of Cinque Terre

The Blue Path, the most popular hiking trail in the park, between Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare

The presence of trails that are safe and accessible while minimizing soil erosion is vital for a National Park, particularly one whose typology is as extreme as Cinque Terre. A direct result of the heavy crowds during the summer months, Cinque Terre trails, spanning almost 12 miles are in constant need of supervision, as both soil degradation and human safety are real concerns.[21] The absence of adequate control can have effects ranging in severity from vegetation loss to major soil erosion. Environmentally sustainable trail management relies on proper oversight that can include an inventory and evaluation of existing trails and grades, set standards for accessibility and closures when weather or other natural conditions deem appropriate. In evaluating trails, it is important to assess intended recreational uses: the extent to which particular paths will be used and the difficulty of said trails.[21] While the best trails are those that are designed, like many other parks, Cinque Terre relies more on visitor created paths or those that are originally the result of local necessity. For instance, the Via dell’Amore is a footpath that was originally built by railroad workers in 1926–1928 for convenience between stations.[5] In addition, to counteract the steep topography of the hills, the park relies on hillside trail construction, stone retaining walls and steps to maintain sustainable footpaths.[22]

In moving forward to improve and sustainably manage the park, an evaluation of tourist demands and projects that respond to those needs are essential. In collaboration with the Italian government, UNESCO has launched a pilot project to implement Management Plans that will provide guidelines for the sites listed in the World Heritage List before 2002, hoping to eventually expand the project to all other National Heritage sites. Specifically for Cinque Terre, the park foresees as its goals the management of tourist flow, preservation of land, an increase of the market for local products and, subsequently, an expansion of the local economy.[7] The analysis considers "attributes" such as the landscape, accessibility, services, type of cookery and cost, and tourist perceptions of these factors. In regards to the landscape attribute, a negative connotation was connected to "mixed cultivation", suggesting that the main draw for tourists is the appreciation of the natural landscape, and less so the tradition that is tied to terraced vineyards.[7] As many of the terraces are now degraded, steps such as the "Uncultivated Lands" initiative are essential in raising interest in this area. Analyzing accessibility, tourists showed interest in the current "system using trains for transportation" as a convenience, but were less supportive of "strengthening of the train system", implying that while the current system is appreciated, further development that would take away from the natural environment would be detrimental. These examples provide an interesting tool for both the park and UNESCO in moving Cinque Terre and other similar sites to a better and more sustainable state.

Unfortunately, tourism in the Mediterranean is seasonal, and heavy surges of visitors in the summer months overload the natural resources over the course of a very short time and crowd-control and limiting trail hours which would minimize the impact of heavy foot traffic are options that are still being perfected. In the off-season, some businesses are virtually abandoned, creating an economic imbalance that is difficult to adjust to.[17] In response, the National Park has tried to draw tourist attention to other aspects of the towns. While there is great success of the "Cinque Terre Card" that allows access to the trails, potential additions of the "Education Card" (granting access to museums and laboratory activities) and the "Health Card" (which promotes natural alternative medicine such as naturopathy and plantar reflexology) are met with less enthusiasm.[7] In either case, ecotourism development is desirable in leading the industry in a more sustainable direction.

The Marchio di Qualità Ambientale (Environmental Quality Brand) is a project whose aim is to minimize the impact of man on the environment by promoting sustainable tourism. The initiative is aimed at tourist-sector businesses on a voluntary basis, the hope being that services that have the potential to safeguard the environment do so through business practices.[23] It is a partnership between the National Park and local business owners, establishing a relationship between socio-economic development interest and environmental protection.

This part of the Ligurian Sea is included in the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean marine mammals, an international protected area that includes territories of France, Monaco and Italy.[24] Founded in 2002, The Pelagos Sanctuary focuses on the protection of Mediterranean cetaceans under threat from human involvement.[24] In Italy, past practices included deep-net fishing and pollution from cruise ships that dock in areas like Cinque Terre, endangering the habitats of dolphins and other cetaceans that live in its waters. Goals are aimed at the protection of Pelagos cetaceans and their habitats and food ecosystems as well as the general biodiversity of the Mediterranean coast.[24]

The coast along the Cinque Terre is characterized by high cliffs, caves, bays, tiny beaches and cleft rocks. Marine life in the stretch of the coast which extends from Punta Mesco at Monterosso to Capo Montenegro at Riomaggiore is rich and varied. The steep faces of the cliffs under water and the shallows and isolated rocks are populated by various kinds of gorgonia (sea fans), such as the colorful Leptogorgia sarmentosa and the white Eunicella verrucosa, a rare species in the Mediterranean, but fairly common along this part of the coast. The Posidonia oceanica, a plant that creates very important grass-like colonies, grows here and provides a safe habitat for the reproduction of many organisms. The steep rock faces of Punta Mesco and Capo Montenegro have the richest forms of marine life including rare species: the Eunicella verrucosa mentioned above, the rare Gerardia savaglia, or black coral. At a depth of only about 15/20 meters at Punta Mesco, unlike the rest of the Mediterranean, it is possible to discover the fans of the Paramuricea clavata or red gorgonia.[25]