Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale

Originally formulated as an institute for fisheries applied research, ICRAM changed its statute in 1992 to that of marine research institute geared for the protection and management of marine resources. The change in institute’s mission reflects a change in marine environmental policy that has expanded worldwide over the last decade and is epitomized in the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Conference on sustainable environmental management. Existing legislation entrusts ICRAM with the task of performing research aimed at controlling the phenomena of pollution, assessing the extent and conservation of marine biological resources and providing guidelines for sustainable fishery and mariculture operations. Pollution, degradation, irresponsible exploitation of resources, human-induced climatic changes, invasion by accidentally or deliberately introduced alien species, threaten the marine environment as a result of unsustainable management and irresponsible use of the marine and coastal environment.