The XXXI Congress of the Italian Society of Ecology was held in Siena from 13 to 15 September at the Complesso didattico San Francesco, focusing on the adaptations of ecosystems to the pressures of the Anthropocene and on the role of the Ecologist in the study of the adaptations of ecosystems to the multiple pressures caused by human society.

More than 220 participants, including national and international guests, attended the event with over 100 presentations and 60 posters. One of the most discussed topics was marine litter in the Mediterranean Sea, an area considered one of the 25 'hot spots' of biodiversity at planetary level where biological richness coexists, however, with very strong anthropic pressures, such as marine litter.

In this context, the University of Siena presented some of the main initiatives on this issue, both at national and international level, in particular the projects financed by the Eni CBC Med Programme, COMMON and Plastic Busters CAP during the side event "Marine Litter Policy Advances in The Mediterranean".

One of the solutions to the problem of marine litter, proposed by the projects, is the coordination of marine monitoring actions, which involves the harmonization of techniques for monitoring impacts on ecosystems and the coordination of mitigation and governance strategies at a regional level that, to be effective, must involve the south and north of the Mediterranean basin.

The conference was led by Prof. Maria Cristina Fossi, project manager of the Plastic Busters Cap Project and Prof. Elisa Anna Fano.

An important keynote lecture was delivered by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University from 2002 to 2016.