Dr. Bacchetta obtained a PhD in Geomorphology and Geobotany from the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy and later received a PhD in Plant Biology from the University of Valencia in Spain.
Since 1991, he has been working on geobotanical and conservation biology studies of the Mediterranean biota and on plant diversity of islands concerning both phytoclimatology and phytogeography. He has been a lecturer at the Marche Polytechnic University for a short period and since 2002 he had an exceptional course at the University of Cagliari, initiating as an Assistant Professor to become a full professor in 2015. He has a remarkable academic work since he is at the same time Director of the Hortus Botanicus Karalitanus of the University of Cagliari, Director of the Conservation Centre of Biodiversity and the Germplasm Bank of Sardinia of the University of Cagliari, Deputy director of the Doctorate program in Earth and Environmental Sciences and Technologies of the same University, as well as Adjunct Professor at the University of Tehran in Iran.
In addition to these, he has been president of the GENMEDA network, deputy president of the scientific council of Conservatoire Botanique National Corse and a member in various scientific committees.
He has an extensive scientific output, having published about 700 scientific papers in international journals, he has collaborated with Italian and international editors on 24 scientific books, and he has served as a peer reviewer for both national and international journals in the field of biodiversity conservation. He played a significant role as an editor of important scientific journals like the Plant Biosystems and Plant Sociology, and the Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens.
After 30 years of research throughout the Mediterranean and island systems specifically, he decided to shift his focus more and more toward supporting people in need, mainly in Africa, the Near East and South America. He wishes to continue the projects running in Brazil, Mozambique, Tanzania and Tunisia, and he envisions developing new ones in the Balkans, Ecuador and Togo.