Protected areas and territorial fragmentation: the role of ZPE, contiguous areas and ecological corridors

Protected areas have long represented the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation. However, scientific evidence has demonstrated that isolated and geographically confined protection models are insufficient to ensure the long-term preservation of ecosystems and ecological processes. Habitat fragmentation, increasing urbanization, and the “island-like” management of protected areas significantly undermine ecological resilience and species survival. This presentation examines the legal instruments designed to safeguard biodiversity beyond the formal boundaries of protected areas, focusing on External Protection Zones (ZPE), contiguous areas, and ecological corridors within the Italian legal framework. After reconstructing the relevant international, European Union, and national regulatory context - ranging from the Convention on Biological Diversity to the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Nature Restoration Regulation - the intervention analyzes how ecological connectivity has progressively emerged as a central principle of environmental governance. Particular attention is devoted to Article 32 of the Italian Framework Law on Protected Areas (Law n. 394/1991), which regulates contiguous areas and assigns significant responsibilities to regional authorities. The analysis highlights the constitutional and administrative case law that has shaped the interpretation of these provisions, especially concerning hunting regulation and the delimitation of contiguous areas, revealing persistent tensions between biodiversity protection and competing economic and local interests. The intervention concludes that effective biodiversity conservation requires a systemic and network-based approach, grounded in ecological connectivity, inter-institutional coordination, and the recognition of biodiversity as a primary and prevailing public interest within territorial planning processes.