Hunting and hunting management, an opportunity for a balanced environmental policy

Abstract

In the last years awareness on hunting management importance has increased. In particular, hunting is considered an essential element in territorial policies aimed at conserving natural resources, with the perspective that human agreement could favour its use over time. Some positive results have been reached in those situations that have provided for natural system’s equilibrium, also thanks to sectorial regulations (environmental and hunting related in particular) that improved surfaces subject to management, both through protected areas and ambits for planned hunting. Cultural and political obstacles still remain, and prevent from considering hunting and hunting management as opportunities for protection and production of environment and fauna, and also as supporting factors to rural economy. These obstacles contribute to maintain a dualism between protection zones and fruition zones, and heavily weaken potentialities, thus making efforts fruitless: only a joint territorial management, infact, is able to give satisfying answers in the field of hunting management. Over the last decades hunting activity has deeply changed, shifting from being an act of appropriation of free natural resources to a management act where use is only a component. Understanding the importance of this evolution and promoting the hunting sectors involvement in natural environment management are fundamental actions for society.