The project area is the WWF Oasis of Valle Averto, 78.15 ha. owned by the WWF Italia.

The actions of the LIFE FORESTALL project are implemented within the WWF Oasis of Valle Averto, in the southern part of the Venice Lagoon, an environment of extraordinary naturalistic interest. Valle Averto is famous for its flora and fauna peculiarities representative of the wetlands of the upper Adriatic.

The WWF Oasis of Valle Averto is located within two Natura 2000 sites and within a site  included in the list of “Wetlands of International Importance” according to the Ramsar Convention.

Anthropic pressures and climate changes put the specific biodiversity of this environment at risk and active protection actions are necessary to preserve it.

Recognized as an area of international importance under the Ramsar Convention in 1989, it was subsequently identified as a State Natural Reserve.

WWF Italy manages an area of 200 hectares in agreement with the Ministry of the Environment. A larger area, about 500 ha in size, is the regional protection oasis. The considerable diversification of habitats is linked to the saline gradient, to the different levels of the soil and to the type of substrate.

It is one of the most important areas of the Venice lagoon for the wintering, migration and breeding birds.

Site of primary importance for scientific research, for years it has collaborated with the Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics of the Cà Foscari University of Venice, with the University of Padua and the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (Italian health authority and research organization for animal health and food safety).

Virtual visit to the WWF Oasis of Valle Averto