The Italian-French ALCOTRA project – Biodiversità Stellata / Biodiversité Étoilée was presented in Alba

On Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at 10:30 a.m., the Metilde Villa Bricco Paglieri farm hosted a press conference to present the “Biodiversità Stellata / Biodiversité Étoilée” project, organized by the Alba Tourism Department.

In line with the Interreg VA Italy-France Alcotra cross-border cooperation programme for the period 2014-2020, the City of Alba , together with the partners Commune du Bourget-du-Lac, Ville de La Motte-Servolex, Municipality of Cogne and GAL Langhe Roero Leader , will lead the project “Biodiversità Stellata / Biodiversité Étoilée”, aimed at carrying out awareness-raising activities related to biodiversity.

The partner entities share the fact that they are tourist destinations whose main attraction is the naturalistic aspect of the territory: the UNESCO wine-growing hills for the City of Alba and the GAL Langhe Roero Leader, the lake for Bourget-du-Lac and La Motte-Servolex and the protected mountain of the Gran Paradiso Massif for the municipality of Cogne.

The management, protection, and development of these areas, as well as the focus on biodiversity in all its forms, underscore how environmental preservation and enhancement are key elements in the values ​​of local communities.

Emanuele Bolla, Councilor for Tourism for the City of Alba, stated: "Today, we are launching the "Biodiversità Stellata / Biodiversité Étoilée" project from Alba, funded by ALCOTRA, and we are proud to be the leader of a high-quality partnership. It will be a journey of mutual enrichment that provides us with an extraordinary opportunity to learn from one another. Our community can be proud to have promoted this initiative, which benefits both residents and tourists and will undoubtedly have a long-term impact. We are particularly pleased to be able to count on funding from Europe, which, in this case, has chosen to support an innovative project aimed at future development."

Furthermore, considering that in the areas in question there are starred restaurants that are particularly attentive to the quality, seasonality, and provenance of their products, it was decided to develop the “Biodiversità Stellata / Biodiversité Étoilée” project by analyzing, first of all, food biodiversity.

Taking into account the characteristics of the territories involved, the desire to integrate biodiversity, nutrition, and health, and the objectives of the European Green Deal, the "Biodiversità stellata / Biodiversité Étoilée" partners agreed that the overall objective at the heart of the cooperation is to increase awareness of the value of biodiversity for the territory and for people.

The general objective was then broken down into the following specific objectives:

• Engage stakeholders in the restaurant and tourism supply chain in promoting food biodiversity by building new public-private networks at local and cross-border scales that share local development objectives;
• increase food biodiversity skills among stakeholders in the restaurant and tourism supply chain;
• to make those who live and visit the area aware of the value of food biodiversity.

Claudio Alberto, vice president of the Langhe Roero Leader GAL, adds: "We hope to launch an awareness campaign among those who, in various capacities, can contribute to the protection and enhancement of biodiversity, both in the agri-food sector and in the landscape. The GAL's primary objective is to help people understand how 'biodiversity on the plate' is the culmination of a journey that, touching the various stages of the supply chain, always begins with the land and its seemingly most modest fruits."

Michel Lopez, Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Bourget-du-Lac (Savoy): "On the shores of the lake that bears its name, Bourget-du-Lac preserves traces of its Roman and later Savoy history, as a territory belonging to the ancient Duchy of Savoy. The project fits perfectly with the ideals of respect for nature and the promotion of organic products, which we are supporting together with our "green star" restaurateurs to raise awareness among both residents and tourists. It is a pleasure to share these same values ​​with the Italian people, our neighbor and brother."

Anne Routin, representing the Municipality of La Motte-Servolex (Savoie), where she is the councilor responsible for agriculture, emphasized: "La Motte-Servolex, the town I represent here today, is unique because it encompasses several unique features, including rich Alpine biodiversity, top-notch restaurants, and such a developed agricultural industry that it is the leading agricultural municipality in Savoie. These characteristics have proven to be in line with the views expressed by our Italian partners, colleagues who share our awareness of their own unique territorial identity and the same desire for local development."

Franco Allera, Mayor of Cogne, states: "The history of Cogne is closely tied to its mine: the most important in Italy for iron ore extraction, closed in 1979 and recently restored for museum-tourism purposes thanks to the cross-border Interreg project - ALCOTRA MI.MO (Mountain Mines). And it is here that the former mine has been adapted to store some of the area's finest food and wine products, such as wines and cheeses, which have been refined and improved for aging. Thanks to this project, we hope to further enhance our food and wine offerings by competing with regions that represent absolute excellence on an international level."