Training and Advancement in Italy’s Marine Protected Areas

From February 9 to 13, a technical training week was held in Ischia for remote‑operated underwater vehicle (ROV) pilots. The program involved staff from the Marine Protected Areas of Punta Campanella, Ventotene and Santo Stefano Islands, Santa Maria di Castellabate, Costa degli Infreschi e della Masseta, Baia, Gaiola, Secche di Tor Paterno, and Regno di Nettuno.

The course, organized within the framework of the DigitAP – Digitalization of National Parks and Marine Protected Areas project (NRRP, Mission 2, Component 4, Investment 3.2), aimed to provide technical professionals with the skills needed to independently and effectively operate the new ROV systems supplied to the MPAs for environmental monitoring.

Throughout the week, together with engineers from 3D Research and Mauro Stasi of iROV Underwater Services, participants learned how to assemble, maneuver, and maintain the remotely operated vehicles, and how to use them for environmental surveys under real working conditions.
Alongside ROV training, MPA staff also took part in hands-on sessions with drones and experiments in underwater photogrammetry, tools that make it possible to document and monitor marine habitats, species, and human impacts on seabeds with greater precision.

This training phase followed the December course held at the Marine Protected Area of Capo Milazzo, dedicated to Sicilian MPAs, and is part of a broader program that will include additional sessions in the coming weeks at the Marine Protected Areas of Cinque Terre, Capo Testa – Punta Falcone, and Torre Guaceto.
Meanwhile, the technological capacity of the MPAs continues to grow, with new ROV systems being delivered under PNRR activities to strengthen the national network for marine ecosystem monitoring and protection.

Through these initiatives, the collaboration between ISPRA, the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security, 3D Research, iROV Underwater Services, and the Marine Protected Areas is helping to build a fully operational national network of advanced technologies and expertise dedicated to the knowledge and safeguarding of the sea.