The Ministry of the Environment and the Protection of the Territory financed the Experimental Institute for the Study and Defense of the Soil in Florence with an act of 28-12-2001 for the ''Preparation of a National Atlas of areas at risk of desertification'' at the scale of recognition (reference scales 1:100,000 - 1,250,000). The MATTM considers this Atlas a preparatory tool for the correct implementation of the National Plan to combat drought and desertification, adopted by the Italian State in implementation of the United Nations Convention to combat drought and desertification. The aforementioned act envisages the participation of the National Institute of Agricultural Economics in its specific sectors of competence. The study area includes Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany, Umbria. Protected natural areas constitute an index of response to desertification that protects the environment from anthropic pressures.
