Defense of biodiversity & sports: the Sant'Anna School coordinator of the three-year BENCHES project, funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ Sport program. 5 activities being considered: soccer, athletics, biathlon, canoeing & kayaking, sailing
The project is coordinated by the Interdisciplinary Center for Climate and Sustainability and a team consisting of associate professor Tiberio Daddi, PostDoc Alessio Novi, researchers Giulia Alessandri, Annamaria Pesci and Romina Puccetti
The Sant'Anna School, as coordinating partner, hosted the kickoff meeting of the three-year BENCHES (an acronym for "Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Nature Conservation Helped and Enhanced by Sports") project, funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ Sport program. BENCHES aims to study the interaction between sports and nature from two perspectives and as many objectives. The first objective aims to assess the impacts of sports events on biodiversity and identify solutions for their mitigation. The second objective aims to assess the dependence of sports on the services received by ecosystems, which often represent the natural context within which various sports disciplines are carried out.
BENCHES involves five sports (soccer, athletics, biathlon, canoe and kayak, sailing) represented in the partnership by relevant international sports organizations: the International Athletics Federation (World Athletics), the International Biathlon Union (IBU), the International Sailing Federation (World Sailing), the Italian Canoe Kayak Federation (FICK), and the Portuguese soccer club Benfica. Touchline is the partner for communication activities. BENCHES will focus on different types of terrestrial, marine, and aquatic ecosystems where the sports, the focus of the project, are played.
The project is coordinated by the Interdisciplinary Center for Climate and Sustainability of the Sant'Anna School and the team composed of associate professor Tiberio Daddi, PostDoc Alessio Novi, researchers Giulia Alessandri, Annamaria Pesci and Romina Puccetti.
Over the 3-year duration of the project, BENCHES will produce relevant outputs such as a digital tool for assessing biodiversity impacts from sporting events and a manual of "nature-based solutions" that will facilitate sports organizations in taking actions to reduce their impact on biodiversity.
Cover photo: the kickoff meeting of the BENCHES European project in the Sant'Anna School.
