LIFE+ BIOAQUAE Project

Biodiversity improvement of aquatic alpine ecosystems

The LIFE+ BIOAQUAE projects was conceived by the Gran Paradiso National Park as a valuable opportunity to protect and improve biodiversity in the alpine aquatic ecosystems. High altitude lakes and streams are unique ecosystems of great naturalistic significance, but they are also extremely delicate and vulnerable to the impact of many factors of human origin, such as climate change, the use of water in energy production, the introduction of alien species, and local sources of pollutants, such as wastewaters from pasturelands and shelters.

For many years, the Gran Paradiso National Park has been engaged in monitoring and conservation projects designed to preserve these precious environments. The LIFE+ BIOAQUAE five-year long project, underway since the 1st September 2012, is  an opportunity to develop hands-on conservation initiatives for the promotion of the biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems in the Gran Paradiso National Park.

The project consists of three main actions:

1. Eradicating from some alpine lakes the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), an allochthonous fish, originating from North America, which was introduced into the lakes of the Park in the 1960s and is very harmful to the ecosystems of the lakes;
2. Taking action to preserve the marble trout (Salmo marmoratus), a native salmonid of great naturalistic significance;
3. Adopting phytodepuration systems to improve the quality of high altitude aquatic environments.