Valle d'Aosta launches biodiversity inspector training for mountain farms

Sixteen technicians completed a two‑day practical course on July 29‑30 to become certified Biodiversity Friend inspectors. The training, organized by the Institut Agricole Régional (IAR) in collaboration with partners such as Cave Mont Blanc, LaSalle, Coldiretti Valle d’Aosta and the Parco Naturale del Mont Avic, aimed to standardise scientific methods for assessing the environmental impact of alpine agriculture.

Participants – biologists, agronomists and foresters from Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria and Friuli‑Venezia Giulia – attended classroom sessions in Aosta and field exercises at Saint‑Oyen and the Saint‑Barthélemy valley in the municipality of Nus. They applied biodiversity indices to water, soil, air and vegetation, and concluded with a final exam granting the inspector qualification. The programme is funded by the SRG08 regional rural development measure (2023‑27).