What is an ecological network?

An ecological network is a group of intervention strategies aimed toward the recovery of the territory and its characteristic natural processes. It represents a new approach for the protection of nature, based on the concept of biodiversity, aiming toward the safeguarding and enhancing of biological diversity, fundamental for the survival of ecosystems, within a continuous, diffused and global network and not limited solely to "green islands". It is a fundamental tool both from the technical and the political point of view for territorial planning and for increasing the quality of the territory, in order to create a new balance between natural areas and anthropized contexts. Due to the ecological differences of the many species present and the heterogeneity of environments, methodological approaches to the realization of an ecological network are varied and integrated with each other. The correct pattern is the definition of the variables connected with the context studied and of the planning objectives which can be related to preserved individual target species, ecologically similar groups, communities, ecosystems and processes.
The structural elements of an ecological network are traditionally:
1. Core areas, the most significant ecosystems, with a high level of preserved nature, constituting the frame of the network;
2. Buffer zones, next to the core areas, providing a protective function, with a sort of filter effect;
3.Ecological corridors, that is continuous portions of the territory which can act as connections for some species or groups of species, as well as points or scattered areas (called stepping stones) which can be significant for sustaining passing species, for example providing an area of support for migrating birds.
The management of the regional ecological network is realized by means of strategic guidelines and methodological directions related to the various ecosystems constituting the environmental mosaic. An ecological network is not a closed system, capable of sustaining itself solely by means of internal exchanges; therefore a fundamental aspect is to establish a hierarchy of environments, according to which planning instruments can be defined, from the local, provincial and regional level to broader scopes of a national or transnational level. In realizing the ecological network of Veneto, for example, it has been necessary to include, even if with a lesser degree of detail, the neighboring regions and autonomous provinces, as well as Austria,  extending beyond the regional administrative borders.