Cleaning the seabeds and beaches of Elba's coasts, restoring the island's beauty and protecting its biodiversity. These are the goals of Mare Pulito, the environmental project involving clean-up activities and events all over the island to raise awareness of eco-respect and safeguard the marine ecosystem. The initiative was brought to life in 2010, wished for and worked for by the CED cultural and sporting association, represented by professional scuba divers from 20 diving centres on Elba. On 8 May 2024, it saw Elba star in a new edition supported by the Tuscan Archipelago National Park and the Fondazione Acqua dell'Elba, also involving the Port Authority and participating Municipalities, namely Portoferraio, Porto Azzurro, Marciana Marina, Marina di Campo and Capoliveri, as well as ANPAS (a voluntary association) and ESA (Elba's waste management company) and with the valuable active contribution of Marevivo (the environmental foundation committed to protecting the sea and its resources through national and international actions and campaigns for nearly four decades).
Throughout the day, a variety of clean-up and diving activities took place, removing debris and litter from the beaches at key points on each coast. For the occasion, a hundred or so Delfini Guardiani ('guardian dolphins'), young students from the Casa del Duca primary school in Portoferraio, which participates in the environmental education project led on the island by Marevivo, also joined in the action.
The endeavours of the 2024 edition resulted in collection of almost
1000 kg of litter from the seabeds and beaches of the Island of
Elba, disposed of with the aid of ESA, Elba's
waste management company.
The event, aimed at safeguarding and enhancing the beauty of the sea, further strengthens the synergy between private and nonprofit sectors, citizens, institutions, the scientific community and everyone who shares the same environmental awareness concerning the sea. Safeguarding the sea, enhancing biodiversity and managing waste are also some of the topics of the Elba 2035 Manifesto, issued by Acqua dell'Elba and the Fondazione Acqua dell'Elba, expressing the energy and ideas of the local area and charting a participatory course towards a sustainable island.
