Post on 27-Dec-2015
Real Space For Ecosystem
Services Assessment
In Italian Local Governance
And Institutions?
An Expert-based Application And An
Exploratory Survey
4th ESP Conference 2011 Ecosystem Services: integrating Science and Practice
WS 5 – Role of ecosystem services in policy making and institutional aspects
Rocco Scolozzi – Fondazione Edmund Mach Elisa Morri & Riccardo Santolini - University of Urbino
Current state - questions
The assessment of ecosystem services is the focus of intense policy and management interest.
Ecosystem services are becoming increasingly threatened
Resources that are not valued in the market and are ignored in management decisions
What about Italy?
“to make ecosystem services a useful framework and applicable tool for environmental management and policy making, the services first need to be quantified and visualized appropriately”
DONE!…Appropriately?
Who will care about?Is there space for integration?
Which scale more helpful?
Current state - questions
About land-use planning in Italy
20 Regions ≈15.000 km2
103 Provinces ≈ 3.000 km2
8101 Municipalities ≈ 30 km2
Regions Guidelines and principles
Provinces Indications prescriptions (e.g. protected areas)
Municipalities Land-use definitions
About land-use planning in Italy
Expert-based assessment of ES value change
Assessment for 3 scales:-Province-Municipality-Catchment basin
Exploratory survey: focus groups and interviews
Ferrara
Ravenna
Reggio Emilia
ModenaRavenna
Bologna
Reggio Emilia
At municipal, provincial and regional level:
•Departments of Urban Planning
•Departments of Environment
•Regional Environmental Agency
About real land-use planning
Regions
Provinces
Municipalities
Principle of Subsidiarity
Construction Industry
Economic crises!
About real place for ES
Regions
Provinces
Municipalities
• No knowledge/awarenessor some knowledge but not
used
• Environmental values: Merely as nature conservation
areasOr as landscape
cultural/aesthetic values
...but great interest!
To incorporate ES into policy-making and
institutions requires: 1. flexible institutions (scales) 2. aware policy-makers 3. integrative policies
Checklist for Italian cases: 1. No2. No3. No
Solutions?
Suitable scale At province scale:
To identify ES suitability and related guidelines To manage local conflicts between economic forces and
community resources/benefits At catchment basin:
To identify “territorial compensations” (e.g. upstream, downstream areas)
To define measures/rules according to the scale of ecosystem processes
At municipal scale: “not really useful level of detail” “More uncertain, less reliable and probably wrong”
Potentials As criteria for sustainability assessment,
impact assessment (EIA, SEA) As framework for integrative environmental
accounting of local institutions As criteria for quantification Costs/Benefits
of land-use changes As framework for ecological compensations
(especially in urban planning)
QuantitativeQualitative
Quantitative
Quantitative
Quantitative
Qualitative
For particular Italian cases (only?): as leverage for reinforce position of public interests vs. private interests within local spatial planning
ESA may help to enlarge the perspective/vision
ESA as paradigm to overcome short period thinking
Open questions Reliability of assessment methodology?
“We need of a reliable methodology ... As for budget and accounting, with possibility to be certified”
Shared paradigm (perspective)? “Concreteness” of intangible values Monetary vs. non monetary values Monetary values but not market confrontation“We need of quantification of tangible values”
Old question: Feasible estimation vs. impracticable exactness
First: change the mental map, raise awareness(a matter of social learning)
Thank s for the attention!