CONNATURALP
Acronym: CONNATURALP
Title: CONnecting NATURe and heALth in the AlPs
Duration: 20/02/2025 -19/02/2027 24 months
Coordinator: GAL Prealpi e Dolomiti
Partners: PMU, Paracelsus Medizinische Privatuniversität Salzburg –Privatstiftung; TESAF, Università degli Studi di Padova; UNESCO Biosphärenpark Salzburger Lungau; Università degli Studi di Trieste; I.P.A. Terre di Asolo e Monte Grappa; Kärntner Nationalparkfonds Hohe Tauern; ANGOLO OdV, Associazione Nazionale Guariti O Lungoviventi Oncologici
Total EU Contribution: € 982.885,83
TESAF Budget: € 296.744,00
Responsible Scientific Officer/Investigator: Laura Secco
Research Team: Thomas Campagnaro, Alessandra Rigo, Flora Giulia Simonelli, Deborah Vedovetto
Brief description: Connaturalp is an innovative project that aims to promote an integrated approach to protecting and promoting the health of ecosystems and humans, with a view to developing strategies that can contribute to the protection of both. Through the One Health approach and a multidisciplinary partnership, Connaturalp aims to improve understanding of the relationships between ecosystem health, biodiversity and human health through the use of Nature-based Therapies (NbTs). The project therefore plans to:
- Identify specific parameters to measure the health status of ecosystems and the ecological footprint that NbTs have on biodiversity
- Develop and implement clinical protocols to assess the effects that NbTs have on vulnerable target groups
- Creating a common protocol for the implementation of NbTs
- Investigating the pro-environmental behaviour of the patients involved and citizens who frequent parks and biosphere reserves.
Through communication and information activities in the local area, policy recommendations will be made available for improving biodiversity and, at the same time, human health.
The TESAF department is involved in WPs 2 and 4.
WP 2 aims to understand the effects of NbTs on biodiversity and establish specific indicators to measure the effects of human-nature interaction on ecosystem health.
WP4 aims to explore whether and how connecting with natural ecosystems through NbTs experiences and adapting forest management planning accordingly can increase people's awareness of the importance of biodiversity protection. Furthermore, WP4 aims to promote the emergence of new values in the relationship between nature and humans and to guide the strategic planning and management of protected and natural areas in the cross-border programme area.
Website: https://interreg.net/it/progetti-interreg-italia-austria/#projects-list
