Biodiversity and natural capital

The Natura 2000 Network, established under the Habitats and Birds Directives (known as the Nature Directives), consists of 2,649 sites in Italy, covering a total area, net of overlaps, of 5,844,888 hectares on land, equal to 19.4% of the national territory, and a marine area of 2,344,963 hectares, equal to 6.5% of the waters under national jurisdiction (territorial waters and EPZ) (2025 data, transmitted to the Commission in January 2026). The Network is fundamental for the implementation of the Nature Directives, but it is also important in relation to the targets of the European and National Biodiversity Strategies for 2030 (EBS2030 and NBS2030), which call for expanding protected zones to at least 30% of the land surface and 30% of marine waters; in addition to the N2000 Network sites, all areas subject to protection, including National and Regional Parks and all other protected areas, contribute to this target. In the Italian regions and autonomous provinces, the Network has a heterogeneous extension, with percentages of protected regional territories and waters ranging from 12% (Emilia-Romagna) to 36% (Abruzzo) on land and from less than 1% (Marche) to 31% (Puglia) at sea. 

The indicator illustrates the trends and conservation status of the over 340 Italian species protected by the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC and is based on the results of the last three Italian reports pursuant to art. 17, coordinated by ISPRA on behalf of MASE and transmitted to the European Commission in 2013, 2019 and 2025. The data from the latest report (referring to the period 2019-2024 and delivered in 2025) are presented in detail, in which the 346 species of community interest present in our territory and in our seas were evaluated (226 animal species and 120 plant species), creating 344 distribution maps and 580 reporting sheets (one for each species in each biogeographical region of presence). 

The results show that in 2025, 29% of species are in poor conservation status (SC) and 20% are in bad conservation status, meaning they are in worrying conditions and at risk of extinction. Terrestrial and freshwater fauna is the group with the highest percentage of species in bad SC (22%), followed by terrestrial flora (16%) and marine species (11%). 

Comparing the results of the V Report with the previous ones (III Report-2013, IV Report-2019) no improvements in the SC emerge for most species, even if there was an increase in knowledge for marine species. The percentages of change in the SC of the species between IV and V Report show 74% of the assessments in which the SC of the species remains unchanged, 10% in which the SC improves, 11% of assessments in which the SC worsens and a remaining 5% in which the assessments in the two reports are not comparable. 

The data presented confirm the urgency of implementing the actions envisaged by the EU Regulation 2024/1991 for the Restoration of Nature and by the European and National Strategies for Biodiversity to 2030, whose targets provide that at least 30% of species and habitats in unfavorable SC improve their status by 2030 or show at least an improvement trend. 

The indicator examines the series of forest areas affected by large fires on a national, regional and protected area scale in the period between 2018 and 2025. 

The distribution and extension of these surfaces generally shows significant interannual variability. 2025, in particular, was a year seriously affected by an extension of the forest areas affected by fires, greater than the previous year. Furthermore, the forest area burned is only lower than that burned in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

In 2025, the most affected regions were: Sicily (3,967 hectares - ha), Calabria (2,892 ha) and Campania (1,835 ha), which together represent 71% of the forest area at national level affected by fire.

The forest classes most affected are evergreen broad-leaved trees (e. g. Holm oak forests and tall scrub), followed by deciduous broad-leaved trees (e. g. Oak and beech forests) and decidedly less so by conifers (e. g. Pine forests, fir forests and larch forests).

The linear regression analysis of the national forest cover data series affected by fire does not show an increasing trend, although the length of the series does not allow medium and long-term evaluations. On the contrary, a statistically significant positive trend was observed for the regions of Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria. 

The indicator describes the conservation status of the 132 habitats protected by the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC, one of the main pillars of community policy for nature conservation.  The indicator is based on the results of the Italian reports (III Report-2013, IV Report-2019, V Report 2025) drawn up pursuant to art. 17 of the Directive, coordinated by ISPRA on behalf of MASE and officially transmitted to the European Commission.

Specifically, the sheet presents the results of the fifth report in which distribution maps were produced for 124 terrestrial and inland water habitats and 8 marine habitats. Furthermore, 262 reporting forms have been updated, each referring to a habitat in the respective biogeographical regions of presence. In 2025, 42% of habitats are in poor conservation status (SC) (U1), while 48% are in bad conservation status (U2), meaning they are in worrying conditions. Comparing the results of the V Report with the previous ones (III-2013, IV-2019) no improvements in the SC emerge for most of the habitats, even if there was an overall increase in knowledge. The percentages of change in the habitat SC between the 4th and 5th reports show 71% of the assessments in which the habitat SC remains unchanged, 7% in which the SC improves, 19% of assessments in which the SC worsens and a remaining 3% in which the assessments in the two reports are not comparable.  The data presented confirm the urgency of implementing the actions envisaged by the EU Regulation 2024/1991 for the Restoration of Nature and by the European and National Strategies for Biodiversity, whose targets envisage that at least 30% of species and habitats in unfavorable SC improve their status by 2030 or show at least a trend of improvement. 

The wildfire phenomenon, analyzed on the basis of data collected from 1970 to 2024 by CUFA of the Carabinieri Corps (formerly the State Forestry Corps), shows a fluctuating trend, with peak years (1993, 2007, 2017, 2021) alternating with periods of decline (2013, 2014, 2018, 2024).
Wildfires occurring within Protected Areas (recorded since 2003), although showing annual fluctuations, remain at high levels, with an average of 11,000 hectares burned over the last three years.
The incidence of deliberately caused fires is very high, representing about half of all recorded events and exceeding 60% in some years.

The indicator provides an overview of the current presence of alien animal and plant species in Italy, describing their numbers and trends in introductions over the past century. It reports the average annual introduction rate (the mean number of new alien species introduced each year), the main pathways of introduction (according to CBD categories), and the distribution of invasive alien species of Union concern.

The number of alien species in Italy is steadily and continuously increasing. Based on the data currently available, more than 3,800 alien species have been introduced into the country, of which 3,699 are currently established in the territory. The average number of species introduced per year has grown exponentially over time — from 6 species per year in the 1970s, to 16 per year in the previous decade, and reaching 25 per year in the current one. The cumulative number of alien species introduced in Italy since 1900 also confirms this exponential trend, showing an increase of over 500% in 120 years.

Land fragmentation is the process that leads to a progressive reduction in the surface area of natural and semi-natural environments and to an increase in their isolation. This process, which transforms large territorial patches into smaller and more isolated units, is mainly driven by urban expansion—implemented through more or less sustainable development patterns—and by the growth of infrastructure networks aimed at improving connectivity between urbanized areas through linear works. In 2024, 42.41% of the national territory was classified as having high or very high fragmentation. The regions with the largest share of very highly fragmented land are Veneto (39.73%), Lombardy (33.73%), Emilia-Romagna (25.22%), Puglia (25.22%), and Campania (25.76%). These figures confirm the close relationship between fragmentation and urbanization density.

The indicator quantifies soil consumed as a result of a change from a non-artificial soil cover to an artificial soil cover, according to the principle of net land take, i.e. net of transformations from consumed soil back to non-consumed soil (generally the restoration of construction sites and other areas that in the previous year fell under reversible soil consumption).
Gross soil consumption recorded in 2024 affected 8,370 hectares of territory, causing the often irreversible loss of natural, semi-natural, and agricultural areas and their related ecosystem services.

Both the number of protected areas and the extent of protected marine surface have steadily increased over time. At present, 30 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been established in Italy, across 10 Italian regions, along with a further 10 areas protecting coastal marine stretches.
Sicily and Sardinia host the largest share of marine protected areas, both in terms of number and area of protected surface. Between 2012 and 2023, at the national level, the surface of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) increased by 3.1%, following the establishment in 2018 of the two MPAs of Capo Testa–Punta Falcone in Sardinia and Capo Milazzo in Sicily, and in 2023 of the Capo Spartivento MPA in Sardinia.

In Italy, a total of 843 terrestrial protected areas (including those with a coastal component) have been established to date, covering more than 3 million hectares, equivalent to about 10.5% of the country’s land surface. An analysis of the historical series (1922–2024) shows consistently positive trends—particularly from the mid-1970s—in both the number and the extent of terrestrial protected areas, while growth trends have tended to stabilize since 2008–2009.

The anthropogenic pressure exerted on forest ecosystems in recent decades, driven in part by the increasing use of woody biomass for bioenergy, technical applications, and construction, has led to the degradation of many natural and semi-natural systems, particularly in tropical regions. These phenomena are frequently associated with the unsustainable and/or illegal exploitation of forest resources. The harvesting, processing, and transportation of wood and its derivatives can generate significant negative impacts on the environment, as well as at local and global economic and social levels. Over the last twenty years, focus has turned toward the sustainable use of forest biomass, stimulating concrete actions and effective tools aimed at preventing such impacts and mitigating their effects. These virtuous initiatives have involved political decision-makers, private companies, associations, and individual citizens. Forest certification emerged as a tool designed to prevent negative impacts and threats to national and international forest heritage through the adoption of appropriate practices based on the careful planning and monitoring of woody biomass management and use.
In Italy, as of 31 December 2024, the forest area certified under the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC™) scheme reached 1,061,059 hectares (representing an increase of nearly 8% compared to 2023). Meanwhile, the area certified under the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) scheme totaled 115,118 hectares (a 35% increase over the previous year)

The European Commission adopted the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (EBS 2030, COM(2020) 380 final), which calls on Member States to protect at least 30% of national land territory and 30% of marine areas, with at least one third of these areas under strict protection. These objectives have been incorporated into the Italian National Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (NBS 2030).

This indicator integrates spatial data relating to the main biodiversity protection systems in Italy (protected areas and the Natura 2000 Network). It calculates the extent of Italian territory currently protected on land and at sea, assesses changes from 1991 to 2024, and shows the gap between the percentage of protected land and marine areas and the 30% target set by the EBS 2030.

After removing overlaps between protected areas and Natura 2000 sites, national protected coverage currently amounts to approximately 4,071,482 hectares at sea, corresponding to 11.6% of Italian territorial waters and the Ecological Protection Zone (EPZ), and about 6,532,887 hectares on land, corresponding to 21.7% of Italian territory. The extent of overlapping areas—those falling both within a protected area and a Natura 2000 site—has increased over time, reaching 893,839 hectares at sea and 2,447,065 hectares on land in 2024. Trends show that the national percentage of protected surface has stabilised since 2006 for marine areas and since 2011 for terrestrial areas. To achieve the 30% target set by the EBS 2030, an additional gap of about 18% of marine surface still needs to be protected (around 6,600,000 hectares), along with 8% of terrestrial surface (around 2,500,000 hectares).

The indicator refers to carbon stock, i.e., the amount of carbon stored in Italy across the different forest carbon pools, and to the variation in carbon stock (carbon sink), which accounts for both the carbon sequestered and the emissions released due to wildfires, harvesting, and natural mortality within national forest ecosystems. Carbon stock and carbon sink are effective indicators for assessing the condition of a country’s forest resources, as they are influenced by forest productivity and, negatively, by both natural and anthropogenic disturbances (such as fires, logging, pests and pathogens, natural mortality, etc.).
Carbon stocks in Italian forests are increasing, indicating a net positive balance between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals (carbon sink). This trend is partially driven by conservation and forest protection policies and, on the other hand, by a decrease in harvested timber volumes due to complex economic and social factors. Emissions from forest fires remain a significant concern. The trend of the national carbon sink over the period 1990–2023 has been heavily affected by a reduction in GHG removals associated with areas burned annually. In fact, the impact of biomass loss from large-scale wildfires in 1990, 1993, 2007, and 2017 is particularly evident in the carbon sink trend. This highlights the critical role of wildfires in shaping the contribution of national forests to the global carbon cycle

Italy hosts a remarkable floristic heritage, both in terms of species and subspecies richness (2,815 lichens, 1,209 bryophytes, and 8,241 native vascular entities) and biogeographical value. Of the 8,241 Italian vascular plant,1,702 species (equal to 20.65%) are endemic, meaning they exist exclusively in the country. Among these, 1,128 species are regionally endemic, with their range restricted to a single Italian region (data updated to April 2024).

The indicator also highlights the IUCN risk status of 2,430 vascular plant entities (representing 29.5% of Italy’s vascular flora), identifying the main threats affecting them. Unfortunately, the overall conservation status cannot be considered satisfactory: 2.2% (54 species) of the 2,430 evaluated entities are extinct or likely extinct; 24.3% (590 species) are at risk of extinction.

Human-induced pressures related to land-use changes represent a major driver of plant species extinction risk. The Red List of vascular flora identifies the most critical pressures affecting species: Modification of natural systems (39% of the 2,430 assessed taxa are subject to this pressure);

Agricultural development (27%); Residential development (27%); Direct human disturbance in natural environments (20%).

This indicator provides a national overview of the conservation status of 268 breeding bird species assessed in the reporting under Article 12 of the Birds Directive 2009/147/EC. The assessment includes species of community interest listed in Annexes I and II of the Directive, as well as those that justify the designation of Special Protection Areas (SPAs).

At the national level, the percentage of species with a favourable conservation status increased from 51% (reporting period 2007-2012) to 56% (reporting period 2013-2018). However, this increase was insufficient to meet the target set by the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 (76%).

The short-term population trends, which reflect processes occurring in the last decade, indicate that 46% of species are increasing or stable, while nearly 25% of species are in decline (the population trend of the other 33% remains unknown). Regarding short-term trends in distribution range, the proportion of declining species is lower, as only the most severe declines result in range contractions: 21% of species show a contraction, while the remaining 79% have stable or expanding ranges.

Soil degradation refers to the reduction in the biological productivity of soil resources. This process is often intrinsically linked to biodiversity loss and the impacts of climate change. Assessing soil degradation requires considering multiple interdependent factors, each contributing differently to the phenomenon.

In recent years, Italy has participated in the pilot project on Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), promoted by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and in the LDN Target Setting Programme, which supports countries in identifying voluntary LDN targets and defining associated measures to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15.3. This goal is monitored through the "Proportion of degraded land over total land area" (SDG Indicator 15.3.1).

For the assessment of this indicator in Italy, three sub-indicators proposed by UNCCD under the LDN framework have been adopted:

1. Land cover change
2. Soil productivity index
3. Soil organic carbon content

Additionally, further indices and parameters relevant to the Italian context and available at the national level have been considered. The results show that in 2019, the proportion of degraded land in Italy, excluding water bodies, was 17.4%, according to the UNCCD methodology. Furthermore, nearly 56,000 km² (approximately 18.5% of the national territory) experienced increased degradation between 2006 and 2019.

The Italian fauna is estimated to include over 58,000 species, with the total number reaching approximately 60,000 taxa when considering subspecies. However, this biodiversity is under threat, as indicated by IUCN assessments and population trends. Among the 672 species of Italian vertebrates (576 terrestrial and 96 marine), 6 are extinct in Italy, and 161 are threatened with extinction (accounting for 28% of the assessed species). Different vertebrate groups show varying percentages of risk: 2% for marine bony fish, 19% for reptiles, 21% for cartilaginous fish, 23% for mammals, 36% for amphibians, and up to 48% for freshwater bony fish (considering the CR+EN+VU IUCN categories). Additionally, terrestrial and marine vertebrate populations are generally declining by 27% and 22%, respectively.

Breeding birds are the only group for which two IUCN assessments have been conducted, seven years apart. Of the 278 species assessed in the latest 2019 evaluation, 5 are extinct, and 67 are threatened (compared to 76 in 2013), representing 26% of the evaluated species. Half of Italy's breeding bird species are not at immediate risk of extinction.

Among invertebrates, 9% of corals, 11% of dragonflies, 21% of saproxylic beetles, 6% of butterflies, and 11% of assessed bees are threatened with extinction. Invertebrates also show negative trends; for example, 16% of dragonfly populations are in decline, five times higher than those increasing.

In order to assess whether protected areas have been designated based on scientific criteria, including ecologically representative areas (Margules & Pressey, 2000; Maxwell et al., 2020), the overlap between terrestrial protected areas in our country and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA, IUCN, 2016) has been calculated. The protected areas considered include those in the data bank of the Common Database on Designated Areas (CDDA) (now Nationally designated areas of Europe - NatDA), and the Natura 2000 Network. KBAs identify key areas for biodiversity conservation and, according to the European Commission’s guidance document on achieving the 30% target ("Criteria and guidance for protected areas designations," Brussels, 28/1/2022), are among those to be considered for designation as protected areas. The indicator used corresponds to the one adopted internationally to evaluate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 (SO4-3.T1: National estimates of the average proportion of Terrestrial KBAs covered by protected areas in %).

The results indicate that, after accounting for overlaps between CDDA protected areas and Natura 2000 sites, 75.20% of the national terrestrial protected area overlaps with KBAs identified at the national level, demonstrating a fair inclusion of important biodiversity areas.