Nearly four tons of sand, pebbles, and shells have been illegally removed from the beaches of Sardinia over the last two years. This alarming balance emerged from customs checks carried out at the Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport, where personnel from Enac and the State Forestry Corps intercepted dozens of tourists attempting to board with fragments of the island's coastal ecosystem hidden inside their luggage. It is a silent plunder that poses a severe threat to the stability and conservation of the shorelines.

To counter this phenomenon, the "Riportami al Mare" (Bring Me Back to the Sea) initiative was launched, now in its sixth year of activity thanks to a collaboration among Geasar, the Tavolara Marine Protected Area, Enac, and the Sardinia Region. The project does not stop at raising travelers' awareness regarding the fragility of the coastal heritage; it actively works to repair the damage.

Just last week, the seized materials were reintroduced into nature at the Tramontana site, located right behind the island of Tavolara. The choice of location was guided by a targeted geological study commissioned to analyze the composition of the recovered sediments, identifying the most suitable area for their reintroduction and ensuring full respect for the original geological balance.