The protesters in Rome’s central Piazza Venezia came from all over the capital, but they had one concern in common: save the imposing stone pines that for centuries have graced the low horizon of the City.
Celebrated in music and art, and admired by the ancient Romans, trees are as much a part of the City’s identity as its man-made monuments.
“They are in the hearts, photographs and memories of all”, said Jacopa Stinchelli, who helps lead the defense for the Pines.
An insect known as the pine tortoise scale, which crept into Italy about a decade ago, has killed many trees. However, in the eyes of some Romans, it is not only the insects that are to blame, but also the government of the city, which has sometimes had difficulties in providing basic services such as garbage collection.
Detractors say the pines have been subjected to excessive thinning. Although there is no precise census of how many pinyon pines have been felled, activists say that at least 4,000 potentially curable trees have been felled in the last two years, while many hectares of pine trees in peripheral areas have been destroyed by the plague.
“I want to cry”, said Eva Vittoria Cammerino, a participant in the recent protest, as she looked at the freshly cut tree stumps in the square’s grass.
Cammerino, a member of one of Rome’s district-level municipal councils, said he had formally requested documentation to ensure that the felled trees had not passed the stress tests that condemned them to the axe. City officials said those tests had indeed been carried out and the trees could not be saved.
Another protester, Alessandro Cremona Urbani, said hundreds of trees had been lost in his posh Viale Trieste neighborhood. Other protesters, chanting “Keep your saws out of Rome’s trees” while holding signs reading “Green Massacre,” had similar stories.
Rome has dozens of green areas, but the department that oversees them is “inadequate”, lacking staff, experience and a long-term maintenance schedule, said Giorgio Osti, who has been leading an effort to improve the city’s approach.
Pine tortoise scale, native to North America, was first detected in Italy, in Naples, in 2014, and spread rapidly. It razed parts of the greater Rome area and wiped out entire forests.
The main method to counteract the pest in urban areas is to inject an insecticide into the tree to kill the female population. As with vaccines, there is a first dose and then a booster, which critics say has not been given often.
But researchers are looking at other techniques, aware that the current approach “cannot be a forever solution,” said Pio Federico Roversi, director of a national plant protection research center.
Therefore, researchers are studying the possibility of introducing the pest’s natural predators from North America. They are also trying to identify local species that could be a natural antagonist.
By: ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6871746, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-08-30 21:20:11
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