The development of the ‘Natural Capital and Resources for Italy’s Future’ project aims to provide a realistic and as quantitative as possible characterisation of the set of biotic and abiotic resources available in our territory (including offshore), according to the principles of sustainable use of natural resources in the following areas

1. Carbon storage and valorisation of CO2 in a circular economy perspective: Definition of processes and materials for a rational use of CO₂ in terms of decarbonisation and CCU (Carbon Capture and Utilisation), through emission reduction strategies by means of low-carbon technologies, mitigation and adaptation.
2. Critical raw materials and valorisation of by-products (Raw materials): Development of a circular economy with low use of critical raw materials and high valorisation of waste, and rational use of resources through reduction of raw materials and effective recycling of waste.
3. Ecosystem services and biodiversity: Obtaining a summary of key Italian research results in the context of ‘biodiversity’ and ‘farm to fork’ strategies, and evaluating ‘land sparing’ and/or ‘land sharing’ options for biodiversity and service provision in the EU framework.
4. Land status and sustainable land use: Identification of key indicators for monitoring and modelling sustainability of land use, critical zone response, ecosystems and biodiversity in transition areas at high risk of degradation and irreversible change.
5. Groundwater: Identification of materials and technologies for the purification of groundwater for its rational utilisation, definition of technologies and materials for the potabilisation of groundwater, and definition of the movement of pathogens and organic pollutants in groundwater as a result of the use of drainage trenches (also with the aid of suitable predictive models).
6. Use of marine resources: Analysis of interactions between sea and coastal uses and impacts on ecosystems in Italian maritime areas, consolidation and development of decision-support tools for Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), with a view to a comparison of cross-border aspects on a Mediterranean scale.

As part of the Natural Capital Project, calls for proposals, including transdisciplinary ones, have been financed, which can be viewed in the dedicated section https://dta.cnr.it/en/activities/department-announcements/