LIFE is the EU’s financial instrument supporting environmental and nature conservation projects throughout the EU, as well as in some candidate, acceding and neighbouring countries.

The area where the project will be implemented is located within the SPA IT322013 « Bosco Dueville » and the SCI IT322040 « Bosco Dueville and nearby springs ». Therein lies an area (19 ha) currently used as a fish farm, but now not in use, that will be purchased by the Public Body Provincia di Vicenza (PVI) by the year 2009 and will be subsequently recovered through the restoration and the increasing of habitats 91E0*, 3260, lying within the site. The PVI  will purchase a land whose surface is about 4 ha, located outside the area dedicated to fish farming, but always inside the SCI ; this area will serve as ecological corridor needed to connect the other biotope « Bosco del Centro Idrico di Novoledo », which has a surface of nearly 20 ha and is located North from the fish farm. Also this area will be restored through the creation of habitat 91E0*, 3260, 6410, 6510 present in its surroundings.

Furthermore, some specific habitats of species living the area like will be restored and better protected: Cottus gobio (fish), Rana latastei, Alcedo atthis, Nycticorax nictycorax, Egretta garzetta, Circus aeruginosus (birds).

SORBA project is built with the specific purpose to restore and better protect an unhealthy environment, also by deepening the scientific knowledge about the flora and fauna living in the SPA and by spreading and transferring this knowledge among the local operators and the population in general, in order to increase the protection level of the area. The overarching objective of the project, protection and habitat restoration and monitoring of EU habitats and species, is consistent with the objectives and priorities listed in Annex II of the Life+ Regulation, while the reduction of the invasive exotic specie’s impact is included in the national targets reported in the Communication COM(2006) 216 of the 22/5/2006 with the priority Objective 5.

To achieve the overarching objective of the project it’s important to identify and educate all the stakeholders and the competent territorial authorities in the project activities, since their very early stage, by involving them since in the activities planning. The following actions for the conservation of habitats and species listed in the Birds and Habitat Directive will be implemented:

- conversion of a part of the area occupied by the tanks, now used for fish farming, recovering the original paleolitic environment and recovering of the habitat 3260. This action will be implemented through a morphologic rebuilding of the surface and a plantation of the most important habitat’s species, able to ease the colonization of Rana latastei, Alcedo atthis, Nycticorax nictycorax, Egretta garzetta and Circus aeruginosus

- some forest restoration interventions of the ex fish farm area will be carried out, to thin the infestant weeds out and to reconstruct the plant associations typical of the Habitat 91E0*, considered as a “priority habitat”, and included in the intervention area with some neighbouring strips 

- acquisition of an area (about 4 ha) by the PVI to carry out an ecological corridor in order to connect the restored area of the ex fish farm and the biotope “Bosco del Centro idrico di Novoledo”. Inside the ecological corridor the habitat 91E0, 3260, 6510 and 6410 will be reconstituted

- the outcomes of the researches and the scientific monitoring will be collected and implemented in order to build an updatable database to verify the evolution of the presence and the consistency of both the vegetable and animal species of communitarian interest within the SPA.  

- some actions for the dissemination of the outcomes and the environmental priorities will be carried out. The targets will be citizens, stakeholders and local Authorities with a special attention for the students. 

The expected outcomes of the project are the following:

- acquisition, by the PVI of some private areas within the SPA and reconversion of these areas into communitarian habitats (around 4 ha)

- restoration of the habitats 91E0* (around 6 ha), 3260 (around 2.4  ha), 9410 (around 1,2 ha), 9510 (around 1,2ha) within the ex fish farm area