The State Forestry Corps (
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
: ''Corpo forestale dello Stato'' or ''CFS'') was a national
police agency in Italy. It was established on 15 October 1822 by
Charles Felix of Sardinia
Charles Felix (; 6 April 1765 – 27 April 1831) was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831.
Early life
Charles Felix was born in Turin as the eleventh child and fifth son born to Victor Amadeus III of ...
as Amministrazione forestale per la custodia e la vigilanza dei boschi.
The five Italian autonomous regions have their own corps of forestry police under regional or provincial control (''Corpo forestale regionale/provinciale''), which have not been disbanded.
CFS was dissolved on December 31, 2016, and all personnel become militarized and absorbed by the
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...
's
Comando unità per la tutela forestale, ambientale e agroalimentare.
Mission
The CFS had police powers and acted as a
park ranger
A ranger, park ranger, park warden, or forest ranger is a law enforcement person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks.
Description
"Parks" may be broadly defined by some systems in thi ...
force responsible for protecting Italy's
natural resource
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...
s, the environment, countryside and ecosystems, especially
national parks and national forests. It also acted as a criminal investigative department and as a typical police force. Its specialist duties included arresting
poachers
Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights.
Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
, investigating
environmental violations,
illegal building
Illegal construction (also known as illegal building or illegal housing) is construction work (or the result of such) without a valid construction permit. Besides the potential technical hazards on uncontrolled construction sites and in finishe ...
,
counterfeit foods, safeguarding
protected animal species, enforcing
endangered species
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...
laws, and preventing and fighting
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...
s through 15 regional commands and its fleet of 22
fire-fighting aircraft. It had responsibility for managing activities related to the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...
in Italy.
Organization
The CFS was an agency under the
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
Jur ...
of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. It was part of the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia (DIA) (Anti-Mafia Investigation Department). The CFS was also responsible for civil protection in Italy's mountain areas and for
disaster relief
Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...
. If necessary, the CFS could also be used in tasks of public order in the city and any urban context.
Regional Corps
The autonomous forestry corps of the special statute regions have not been suppressed, and are active in Sicily, Sardinia, Val d'Aosta, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino Alto Adige.
Corporate profile
The CFS's
emergency telephone number
Most public switched telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number (sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or the emergency services number) that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assista ...
for reporting forest fires was 1515. The CFS's vehicle
livery
A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
was green with a white stripe and the words ''Corpo Forestale dello Stato'' in white along the side. The vehicle
plates began with the letters "CFS" in red.
Rank insignia
See also
*
Gruppo Sportivo Forestale
The Gruppo Sportivo Forestale was the former sport section of the Italian forestry, fishery and environment police force, State Forestry Corps.
History
Founded in 1955, it has now been integrated since 1 January 2017 into the Sports Group of the ...
*
Meteomont
Meteomont is an Italian meteorological service, with responsibility for search and rescue, assessment of avalanche risk, for early warning of avalanches, and for assessment of mountain snow conditions in general. It is a co-operation between ...
References
External links
Official website(in Italian)
Corpo Forestale dello Stato
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
Defunct law enforcement agencies of Italy
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