1 - Premise

Nobody can deny, by now, that the sea, more than any other environment in our planet, urgently needs protection.
In fact, the earth is cultivated and through the agriculture it offers us every kind of product, thus, at least partially, it is protected, since the man has learnt to appreciate its resources.
On the contrary, the sea and its environment are still unknown, as to their inexhaustible richness; for this reason, they are more threatened by the exploitation and impoverishment caused by man’s activities.
As a result, the urgent need is felt of widening the field of scientific research on the sea. But "to work at the sea, we need to know it". This is the meaning title given by Prof. Umberto Colombo, already Chairman of ENEA and "pro-tempore" Minister of University and Scientific and Technological Research (M.U.R.S.T.), to one of his articles published in THAT IS NEWS - in April 1994.
In this article the famous scholar wanted to enunciate the principle that, in order to apply suitable technological solutions, an increasingly more detailed and profound knowledge is necessary, putting aside any improvisation.
This will be possible, however, only if the scientific research on the sea is able to comprehensively play its role, being aware of the vital importance it represents for the whole humanity. In fact, only through the scientific research it is possible to individuate and fully exploit resources that can integrate or replace the continental ones which are gradually running out.
Moreover, through the sea health protection, the scientific research can assure a better quality of the environment as well as of the life itself.
To introduce the subject, we couldn’t disregard these short considerations and concepts that have been so incisively developed by famous scholars and experts of sea problems.
Moreover, before undertaking initiatives and programs of research on the sea, it is fundamental to spread in our Country the "culture" of the sea research, in order to successfully carry on such research. For such process of cultural growth, it is neccessary to involve all institutional and social structures: from the school of every kind, to the University, to mass-media, to cultural associations and institutions, to scientific fields of production and management.
Once stubbornly pursued the cultural objective, it will be certainly easier to achieve and carry out the managing one.
In fact, the failure in the achievement of the cultural objective has caused the failure in the realization of the "National Plan of Research and Training on the Sea", worked out in 1990 by famous scholars on the initiative of the ex-Minister A. Ruberti.
The opportunity has not been taken and this has represented a serious cultural lack for the Country.
Nevertheless, it is possible to make up for it, provided that man orientates his mentality towards a scientific culture, considering the sea as the most important resource left, able to integrate and/or replace earth resources, that are gradually running out.


2 - Present Plans of Research

For the above-mentioned reasons, it is necessary that Italy makes more and better investments in the research. Our Country must gradually try to reduce its inadequacy in this field, compared with other more developed Countries.
In fact, a 1.4% investment of the GIP is totally insufficient (all indicators lead us to think that today it has already decreased to 1.3%, and the trend goes downwards), while in Countries like Germany, France, England and USA such investment fluctuates between 2.20% and 2.80%, with some 3% peaks.
Moreover, in the contest of the national resources available, Italy should accomplish a new distribution of them. That doesn’t mean to penalize certain sectors, like physics, for example, that internationally occupies one of the top levels; but, resource increasing must correspond to the proportional maintenance of financing levels in the most developed sectors and to a progressive strengthening of the weakest sectors, among which there is the research on the sea. Such research, in fact, has been strongly penalized up today. Presently there is no research plan on the sea.
The only existing plans are placed in a European contest and are the expression of one part or one sector inside one single plan.
We refer to the community program, including the MAST program (Marine Science and Technology) and to the initiative called EUREKA, that has been a starting point for numerous plans.
Among these plans is placed the EUROMAR plan, that splits up into sub-plans called VISIMAR-MAROPT-MERMAID-CUPIDO-HTMOMAR and others (therefore called "umbrella" plan) aimed at developing various monitoring instruments of the sea ecosystem.
For example: rigging of air survey systems, software for the analysis of data received via satellites, rigging of a series of undersea platforms, sensors, buoy nets and systems of imagegraphy for the sea environment analysis and surveillance from the surface down to the depth, building of "clean" boat prototypes, breakwaters, working out of cleaner techniques of port sweeping, and finally a model of evaluation of the risks in the sea environment.
The community program MAST benefits by the "special fund for applied research" managed by IMI (Law 25.10.1968, N° 1089, Law 17.2.1982, N° 46 and successive modifications); the EUREKA Plan (Law N° 22/’87), in the majority of cases, is financed only through 10% of the above-said fund. Both, however, represent means by now tested by enterprises, associations, institutions etc., to benefit by useful financing resources and facilitations.
For plans of applied research, it is enough to send in, according to a special scheme, an application, complete with some enclosures, addressed to IMI and MURST (preselected by the latter one); for research plans concerning the international cooperation - EUREKA - an application with some enclosures is required, addressed to MURST, that shall be formulated according to a "18-point card". Both applications, however, shall contain all information allowing to evaluate the plan operative capacity and validity.
EUREKA plans, concerning the cooperation among European countries, are particularly interesting. They are characterized by the fact that subjects of different Countries, after individuating research of common interest and themes to be developed jointly, can have financial support from their own national authorities.
The various partners, in fact, after selecting the most valid plans proposed by enterprises belonging to all Community member Countries (through the Conference of Ministers EUREKA), choose and then join one or more of the mentioned plans (for example, in 1993 Italy adhered to 29 out of 193 plans). Therefore, in this way, each partner can enjoy, by previous application, financing at national level.
In the national contest, however, we cannot disregard the contribution to the sea research, given by two big national scientific organs: the National Council of Research (CNR) and the National Agency of Alternative Energy (ENEA).
In these last years the CNR has worked out national plans of sea research and has supplied parts of human and financial resources to some of its own Institutes operating in the oceanographic field.
In the course of the years, however, financing destined to this kind of research has been increasingly reduced.
It cannot be denied, however, that such Agency, through the standing activity of the said institutes, has acquired a profound experience in the sea research (let’s think of the Institute of Research on sea fishing - IRPEM -, the Institute of Sea Biology of Trieste, the Thalassographic Institute of Taranto, the Thalassographic Institute of Messina, the Sector of oceanographic activities of Rome, the Institute for the Study of dynamics of Rome, the Institute for the Study of dynamics in big masses of Genoa, etc...). Therefore, big results can be achieved by CNR scholars and researchers, who have been working for years in this sector of research, with passion and expertise.
An emblematic example of its big planning and developing capacity is the International Sea Centre in Marina di Terragrande of Oristano; here, the CNR, together with other partners (the Town of Oristano, the M.A.R.E. Sas., Genoa and Oristano, the Italian Japanese Biological Society, the Marina Biological Laboratory Woods Hole, Ma Usa, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the University of Nantes), have made up, thanks to the resources supplied by the European community (1991 STRIDE Program), a pole of research of big international importance. They are working out and carrying on ambitious plans, the most important of which is the realization of the Scientific and Technological Park of Sardinia and a General Program (in the contest of the III general Program of Research, Development and Demonstration, promoted by the European Committee) splitting up into specific plans.
Therefore, it cannot be denied that, although discontinuously, the CNR has represented a reference point for the sea research in Italy.
The ENEA has also played an important role, as concerns its committment in destining financial resources to the sea research.
Let’s think of its two important agencies concerned with the sea research: the CRAM of La Spezia and the aquaculture Laboratory of CASACCIA, Rome. A minor role in the field of the sea research is instead played by the Universities and certain research Agencies surveilled by the Ministries.
In fact, from recent data collected in the Universities, it has been possible to verify that the research carried on by them on the sea, not only has suffered from a considerable reduction of State financing in 1994, but it hasn’t been so relevant as well. Even more meaning is the comparison between the mentioned shortage of resources and the relevant availability of potential researchers. Also the research carried on by some Agencies, surveilled by the Admiralty (for example, the ICRAP -Central Institute for the research applied to fishing), the Ministry of Defence, of Envirnoment (for example, the ICRAM - Central Institute for the research applied to the sea) and by the MURST (for example, the Maritime Institution "Michelagnoli" of Taranto), is strongly penalized by the poor availability of financial and human resources.
The same considerations can be made for a series of associations between public and private agencies, like the CORISA (Sardinian Association of Research, Sassari), the CEOM (Mediterranean Oceanographic Centre, Palermo), the CESVAM (Centre of Development of the Mediterranean Area, Augusta - SR), the Study and Research Centre of Cesenatico, the Sea Biology and Fishing Laboratory of Fano, the Sea Biology Laboratory of Aurisina - TS, as well as for some Agencies like the Hydrobiology Central Laboratory of Rome.
Finally, to give a comprehensive picture of the situation, we cannot disregard the Italian industry committment in and contribution to the sea research.
Although the biggest share of resources destined to the research comes from self-financing, it is noteworthy that in the last years the EEC financing has increased; in comparison with this, however, the percentage of research carried on with the international cooperation has been very low.
Nevertheless, past and recent surveys have confirmed the increasing interest of the Italian industry in the sea and sea technologies. The research, however, has led to a widespread demand for legislative and financial measures in order to cope with the high costs of such a specific activity, avoiding an immediate economic fall.
This is, in short, the "status" of the scientific research on the sea in Italy.

3 - Initiatives for the development of research

The picture is actually not encouraging. Nevertheless, considering the higher and higher reduction of financial resources destined to the research in general, those destined to the sea research seem to be used profitably, although they are poor.
Italy, in fact, is able to fully exploit opportunities, and we are sure that as soon as the present economic situation of the Country is overcome, operators of the sea sector will launch out on new plans and programs to revitalize and develop such sector.
On the other hand, should Italy decide to make investments in the field of the sea research, it is well-known that, compared with other European Countries, it could take great advantage of its particular geographical position.
It would certainly become, for example, the interest and reference pole in the field of the Mediterranean oceanography and in the sectors connected with it, such as meteorology, climatology and sea geophysics, as well as in other and more diversified sectors.
However, until a better economic situation brings new funds to the sea research, it is necessary that in the meanwhile the Italian Parliament and Government do not disregard it completely (except on sporadic occasions).
Since there is nothing but few available resources, the Italian Government and Parliament should at least commit themselves:

• to promote special and coordinated legislative interventions;laws ruling and financing the sea research activity represent an exception. Normally, a little section of a legislative measure is devoted to the research;
• to program a series of urgent actions through the launching of a new "National Plan of research and training at sea "with short-medium-and long-term objectives. Among the urgent objectives,a plan relative to the oceanography as well as a development plan for sea technologies and the preparation of oceanographic ships shall be indivituated and started. The medium-term objective, instead, could be represented by a "Scientific and Technological Park of the Sea" to be created in the South;
• to realize the coordination and restructuring of Agencies concerned with the sea research;
• to destine financial interventions to small and medium enterprises aiming at developing the research in the sea field.

Without these primary interventions, the sea research in Italy will never be fully developed.
Moreover, it is necessary that a "Centre of national coordination" is created for a more objective and proper distribution of resources destined to the research, without following sectorial trends, which often lead to supplant the right expectations of Agencies that, by law, are delegated to the research.
Otherwise, in spite of the fact that Italy is proud of belonging to the 7 most industrialized Countries in the world, it could be placed among developing Countries rather than among European ones, due to its strong penalization in the destination of financial resources to the sea research.
Such a situation is bound to affect the national economy itself, since Italy has to make up for the inadequacy of the sector, resorting to the importation of goods and patents; this phaenomenon doesn’t concern, instead, European Countries like England, France, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, that are more advanced in such a kind of research.
On the basis of the considerations made above, it is evident that the Italian situation in the sea research can be recovered only through a government policy that is more concerned with the above-mentioned sector.
In particular, this objective can be achieved by launching a new National Plan of Sea Research, for a short, medium and long-term riorganization of the Italian sea research in the various sectors of the Public Administration, of public and private research Agencies, of University and Industry.