Fulco Pratesi, founder of WWF Italy, has died. He was 90 years old, and passed away last night in a clinic in Rome. The environmental association announced it: "Architect, journalist, author, designer, founder of WWF Italy, of which he was president for a long time, as well as a living example of active environmentalism, Fulco Pratesi was the guide for an entire generation of naturalists. WWF Italy joins with emotion the Pratesi family: his children Isabella, Carlo Alberto, Francesco and Olympia and all his grandchildren", the note.
Born in Rome in 1934 and displaced in early childhood with his family to the country property in the Viterbo area, he came into contact with nature early on . After a youthful infatuation with hunting, he converted his interest in nature and animals into conservation. His second life began in 1963, in the forests of Anatolia, in Turkey, where he had gone hunting. A bear with three cubs appeared before him. It was a 'dazzling' encounter as he himself defined it, and which made him completely change his perspective. Back in Italy, he sold his rifle and bought a camera.
Having learned of the birth of the World Wildlife Fund in Switzerland, he contacted them to create the Italian section . "But you will have to find the money necessary for the project," was the answer. With a family and already 4 children, it was not easy. Having gathered some enlightened friends in his architectural studio, WWF Italy was born in 1966, with little money and a lot of enthusiasm. Enthusiasm that always remained his distinctive trait until the last days of his life. His contribution to the definition and approval of fundamental laws for the protection of Italian nature was fundamental, from law 157 on fauna to that on parks in 1991. But his greatest pride was the over 100 WWF Oases that he loved and knew one by one.
Pratesi was also a member of parliament from 1995 to 1997, with the Greens . He was honorary president of WWF Italy and Editor-in-Chief of the historic Panda magazine since its foundation. His contribution was active until the end.
(Online Union)
