The National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Italy's first research center dedicated to biodiversity, coordinated by the National Research Council, has begun operations. With NBFC, a concrete message starts from Italy to promote the sustainable management of biodiversity, which plays a crucial role in the functioning of all the Planet's ecosystems and is the basis of life on Earth, with a direct impact on the well-being of the community and the individual. Biological diversity in all its forms, from microbes to plants and animals to the human species with its cultural diversity, is in the Mediterranean - and particularly in Italy - an even more valuable asset, given that the Bel Paese is home to some of the most significant biological diversity in all of Europe, with 60,000 animal species, 10,000 vascular plants and more than 130 ecosystems. To study and protect this wealth - the protection of which is also enshrined in Article 9 of the Italian Constitution - the body promoted by the CNR was established together with 49 partners, including universities, research centers, foundations and companies. It is headquartered in Palermo. Funding of 320 million euros for three years, from 2023 to 2025, and the involvement of 2,000 researchers, half of whom are women, is planned for this project.
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