MareTerra Onlus
Environmental Research and Conservation
is a no profit organization created by people totally committed to promoting conservation of nature and sustainable development
Where we are
Sardinia (Italy) is among the most beautiful and uncontaminated places in the Mediterranean Sea. Our headquarters is Alghero, in the North-West cost of the island. Most of our present research and monitoring programs are carried out between the northernmost point of the island and the southern coast of the small town of Bosa. Part of this area is protected by national and international laws for its remarkable naturalistic and geological relevance. We are inside the SCI (Site of Community Importance) of “Bosa, Capo Marargiu and Porto Tangone”, the SCI “Capo Caccia and Punta del Giglio”, and the Marine Protected Area “Capo Caccia and Isola Piana”.
Latest news from our blog
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Sardegna Ricerche Award to MareTerra
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MareTerra Onlus won the Award “Scienza che Passione” at the SCIENCE 2DAY Event, an initiative promoted by Sardegna Ricerche and financed by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, which involved more than 700 people at the Technology Park of Pula (Cagliari, Italy). Among the 30 projects submitted, coming from different Sardinian non-profit organizations engaged in the field of scientific dissemination, our association won the first prize in the category "General Public" with the project “Scale Factors”.
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Why is underwater noise pollution a matter of concern?
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In the last 30 years a large number of scientific studies have provided evidences that underwater noise is detrimental to marine wildlife and the ecosystem. Following these findings, the Marine Strategies of the European Commission introduced noise as one of the forms of energy which have to be maintained at level that is not dangerous for wildlife.
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Can dolphin watching tours be sustainable?
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Whale watching is an international industry worth more than 2 billion US$ globally and it is currently the greatest economic activity reliant upon cetaceans. However, there is concern that whale watching is detrimental to the target species. Numerous studies have shown that cetaceans exhibit behavioral changes in response to whale-watching boat traffic. Some of these behavioral changes involve inhibiting biologically important behaviors such as feeding and resting. There is convincing evidence for some species that these can translate into population-level effects such as reduced reproductive rates (Parsons et al., 2012). We work in close cooperation with the dolphin watching company Progetto Natura. Is this a mistake? I summarize below all the reasons why Progetto Natura dolphin watching tours can be considered absolutely sustainable and not detrimental to the dolphins' welfare.