On 11 March, the Regional Council of Molise approved the Park Plan, thus concluding the process that had resumed in 2021 together with the Abruzzo Region – lead partner – and the Lazio Region. Now, the only step remaining is for Lazio to complete the process by signing the agreement with the municipalities of Picinisco and Settefrati, after San Donato Val di Comino had already signed.
This approval marks the end of a long process which began with the proposal submitted by the Regional Government through Resolution No. 31 of 19 January 2024. After a referral to the Commission for further technical analysis, the Plan received a favorable opinion, unanimously expressed in the session held on 13 December 2024.
SETIN, together with ENGEKO, is proud to have coordinated the technical revision and updating of the Management Plan of the oldest national park in Italy. The approval represents an important milestone that, alongside the Socio-Economic Development Plan, will allow for more attentive and integrated territorial management, ensuring greater protection for traditional activities, particularly livestock farming, and support for nature-based tourism.
At the end of this in-depth process of analysis and verification, and thanks to the dedicated work of the competent regional and park services, as well as the technical contribution of ENGEKO and SETIN, who were entrusted with the revision and update of the Plan for Italy’s oldest National Park, the Plan is finally reaching the finish line. Alongside the Socio-Economic Development Plan, it will enable more attentive territorial management, offer greater protection to traditional activities, particularly livestock farming, and support nature tourism.
The approval of the Plan also paves the way for significant territorial development measures, with the recognition of strategic tourist areas such as Valle Fiorita, designated as a tourism zone, and Santa Lucia in Rocchetta al Volturno, where planning has been adjusted to allow for the recovery of existing structures.
More broadly, the Plan includes a zoning system across the entire park area, identifying zones with varying degrees of protection and creating a unified framework with the surrounding territory. The Plan received full approval in the context of both the SEA and Appropriate Assessment processes by the three Regions as early as March 2023, following remarkable coordination efforts among the three administrations, led by the Parks and Forests Service of the Abruzzo Region and continuously supported by the Park’s Legal Service.
The Plan also consolidates all regulatory frameworks of the three Regions, from landscape plans to municipal land-use plans, including conservation measures for Natura 2000 network sites. These are integrated with pre-existing norms prior to Law 394/91, such as the zoning system dating back to the 1980s.
“I would first like to thank the Regional Council of Molise. Now that the Plan is definitively approved, we can finally move forward with the implementation of the Socio-Economic Development Plan, in close collaboration with the Park Community.”, said Park President Giovanni Cannata.
“This will provide new momentum for sustainable economic activities and will help shape the socio-economic future of the park territory. It will also be important to develop the Regulation as an operational tool for the implementation of the Plan.”
“I thank the Regional Council of Molise for approving the Park Plan – a fundamental step for the protection and sustainable development of our territory,” said Antonio Di Santo, President of the Park Community.
“The final approval of the Park Plan will allow us to envision our territory as a unified system, where differences are seen as strengths. Thanks to this approval, the Molise territory will now be eligible for structural funds dedicated to protected areas, creating new opportunities for growth. In the meantime, the drafting process of the Socio-Economic Development Plan has begun, which will give real support and momentum to those who have chosen to live and invest in the mountain villages.”