On July 27-28, a large, arson-related fire hit the Punta Molentis area of Villasimius, devastating approximately 100 hectares of forest, reaching the beach and destroying dozens of parked cars.
Below are the statements of Professor Gianluigi Bacchetta to the Unione Sarda.
“I feel optimistic: Punta Molentis will be reborn, but patience is needed; there are no magic recipes.” Gianluigi Bacchetta, professor of Botany at the University of Cagliari, was among the first to call Villasimius Mayor Gianluca Dessì after Sunday evening’s fire to offer his support and assistance.
The damage done is extensive in terms of surface area. A project involving several experts will be needed,” explains Bacchetta. “As a university, and specifically as the Biodiversity Conservation Center and the Sardinian Germplasm Bank, we have been collaborating with the Municipality of Villasimius and the Marine Protected Area for over twenty years, having carried out several projects for the renaturation and ex situ conservation of germplasm. Fortunately, we have data available that will help us plan environmental recovery and restoration interventions in the areas affected by the fire.”
It’s difficult to provide a precise timeframe for the restoration of the areas devastated by the fires, but while we wait for the University’s facilities to be completed, something could happen as early as the summer.
We close with a comment from Bacchetta himself:
“The Germplasm Banks safeguard and conserve a heritage that, especially in these crucial situations, can be extremely useful in promoting vegetation recovery.
If you know the lands, if you know the flora, if you support the germplasm banks, then you have all the elements to help Nature restore the environment.
Botanists, institutions and dedicated projects, such as our SEEDFORCE, work to assist Nature, certainly not to replace it.”
