Common Property Regimes (Regole) in the Veneto Region (Italy): institutional linkages with Municipalities in the integrated forest landscape management

Forest and pasture Commons are a shared trait of Alpine rural areas, with a total coverage of 1,668,851 hectares, i.e. almost 10% of the total agricultural area of the country (Istat, 2012). Particularly in the Italian Eastern Alps, forest Common Properties have a long-lasting tradition. Mostly called `Regole´ (singular: `Regola´), these were relevant institutions in the past, superintending to all aspects of community life and acting as essential regulator of natural resources use. Since 19th century the Italian common lands have come under relevant attack by central State authorities, that considered them an anachronistic remaining of a feudal past, and unable to promote technological and economic development in the agriculture and forest sectors. Only since mid of 20th century, various national legislative initiatives have progressively returned power to Common Properties. Taking cue from this new climate of supporting legislation, the Veneto Region (north-eastern Italy – i.e. the selected case study area for this thesis research) was first in line in the policy process of recognition of the collective role in managing the regional forest landscapes and in fostering the rural development of mountainous territories. Indeed, Common Properties have a long-standing tradition in the Veneto Region and were tenacious opponents of the fascist attempts to dismantle them. In 2012, Veneto counted 53 Common Properties, almost all of them located in the mountainous province of Belluno. Moreover, 17 Common Properties have been re-constituted since 1996 (Gatto et al., 2012), i.e. since the enactment of a regional law in support of common property regime reconstitution. Where reconstitution processes were successful – or where they are likely to be completed in the near future – a radical change is on the way in the ownership structure of forest landscapes, with large forest and pasture assets shifting from public property regimes to common property regimes, with `close´ membership. Most of the existing bibliographic resources dealing with the Italian common domain limit their analyses to the historical vicissitudes that common lands passed through, or analyse legal issues in technical terms, or debate about some internal Common Property governance and policy issues (e.g. gender balance, intergenerational renovation, need for statute renovation, etc.). Contrarily, very few published works assessed whether and how the internal Common Property dynamics also relate to and influence both the socio-economic and the institutional environments of the whole local mountain communities of residents, administratively identifiable with Municipalities, that Regole belong to. Meaningfully, Municipalities still exert an overarching administrative control and planning functions over the lands comprised within their boundaries, common lands included. The ratio for such a prescription emerges out of the fact that Municipalities represent the entire resident population of communities, as the local residents include both members and non-members of local Common Properties. Then, municipal policy decisions should be informed by broad territorial vision that goes beyond sectorial interests, e.g. forest management, in order to ensure a territorial development as most comprehensive as possible. Nevertheless, it seems that the recent, fast-paced process of re-constitution of Common Properties has the potential to create or increase institutional tensions at the local level, especially due to the new need to coordinate management rights and responsibilities between Common Properties and Municipalities. Florian (2004) reported that in some cases heavy legal disputes and institutional contrasts with local Municipalities were absorbing many available economic and administrative energies of the newly-reconstituted Common Properties. Carestiato (2008) pointed out a similar situation. Hampel (2012) implicitly suggested that nowadays a sort of `feeling of power and individual property´ over common resources by some right-holders might have negative consequences on the social environment that Regole are embedded within. Still nowadays, there are hints of disparate administrative and legal issues still pending among these institutions, insomuch to hinder remarkably the implementation or the achievement of integrated territorial development strategies. For the reasons above, the Veneto Region represents an interesting case to assess the capacity for polycentric governance of forest resources between Municipalities and Common Properties. In the light of the new challenges and opportunities that Regole are called to face and cope with, among which the ongoing institutional reforms (Gatto et al., 2012) and deep societal and demographic changes (Steinicke et al., 2014), two main research objectives have been identified. Firstly, the thesis aims to describe and assess the institutional patterns which the institutional relationships between Common Properties and Municipalities are based on, trying to evaluate their mutual degree of cooperation in their own and interdependent statutory competences. The second objective corresponds to the evaluation of whether, and to what extent, the regional Common Properties give concrete answers to the aims and prescriptions that the Regional law entrusted them with, i.e. forest landscape management and protection and socio-economic development of rural mountain areas. Research activities have been modulated in three different phases. A prevailing qualitative methodological approach has been knowingly selected. After a broad literature review, in the first step of the field data collection, face-to-face interviews have been carried out among the institutional representatives (e.g. Majors, Aldermen, Councillors, etc.) of those Municipalities including Regole within their administrative boundaries. It has been made use of a simple but effective data collection procedure and instrument, i.e. a structured survey questionnaire containing both closed and open-ended responses, allowing for analysis across respondents from organizations of the same category at similar administrative levels. Respondents have been asked to provide information on the institutional communication patterns characterising their relationship with local Common Properties. They were also inquired so to reveal their own perception about the Common Property capability to effectively stimulate the socio-economic development of mountain areas and proactively pursue a sound forest management. In the second phase, taking advantage of a secondary data analysis and through descriptive statistics techniques, the common and municipal attitude towards the active provision of environmental services have been compared. Particularly, a set of environmental services others than wood has been selected, i.e. biodiversity protection, carbon storage, soil protection and water quality regulation, tourism promotion and support to recreational activities. It has been assessed whether Common Properties and Municipalities explicitly considered such environmental services among their current multi-functional forest management practices. The assigned priority to the supply of the environmental services was also tested, analysing whether they consider such provision as a primary or secondary forest management objective. Finally, respondents declaring no or secondary commitment to the supply of one or more environmental services were asked to indicate under which conditions they would be potentially interested in strengthening such proactive provision. In the third research step, a new set of interviews has been carried out to check and compare municipal representatives’ opinions with common representatives’ ones. So, face-to-face interviews have been carried out among common representatives of those Common Properties located in the same areas where the parallel survey had been conducted among Municipalities. Again, the collaborative mechanisms and the institutional linkages horizontally linking Common Properties with Municipalities have been explored, along with their self-evaluation on their own management options and outputs. An informed viewpoint is therefore discussed, disclosing whether cooperative institutional relationships among Common Properties and Municipalities prevail and their mutual institutional tensions can be considered sporadic, or deeper and chronic issues affect them. Prerequisites and conditions best facilitating the establishment of fruitful relationships between these two entities are also described. Moreover, it is discussed whether the ongoing regional attempts at reconciliation between public policies and collective strategies is likely to result in higher levels of synergies also through a socio-economic lens. Results suggest that Municipalities remain the primary institutional reference point for mountain territories, and they continue to play a central role in regulation of local-level socio-economic dynamics. Usually, institutional tensions occur when the presumption that Common Properties have nothing to do with Municipalities prevail (and vice versa), although both these institutions play a role in managing overlapping territories. From a social perspective, it seems also recommendable that right-holders conceive Common Properties more as essential tools to ensure the involvement of right-holders in the local policy processes, rather than as a mere legal acknowledgement of ancient property rights. Nowadays, an excessive closure could even threaten the same survival of some Common Properties, shifted from struggling against the so-called past `enclosure of Commons´ to the opposite situation, i.e. the risk to downgrade to `common enclosures´. Informal relationships among municipal and common representatives have been found to play a relevant role in maintaining the institutional contacts between these bodies vital and properly working. Nonetheless, mechanisms to enforce stable, robust and enduring cooperation (e.g. joint declarations of interest, procedural and/or economic memoranda and agreements, etc.) are worthwhile. In this way, it would be possible also to overcome and prevent personal contrasts that negatively and heavily affect the institutional relationships. Finally, it is comprehensively argued whether or not the outcomes of the re-assignment of former municipal forests to Common Properties can be considered positive in terms of improved forest management practices and environmental services supply. A general consensus has been found, that forest management has improved since Common Properties newly gained control over local forest resources, probably because it represents their statutory and vocational core business. Particularly, the re-establishment of `new´ Common Properties may reinforce the main provisioning services. However, the dichotomy `Common Properties focussed on market-based activities (i.e. wood harvesting) vs. Municipalities focussed on provision of environmental services´ does not seem appropriate

Importazioni italiane di biomasse legnose ad uso energetico (1961 - 2009). Un'analisi quali-quantitativa dei flussi commerciali e delle criticità.

The world public opinion recently placed a strong emphasis on renewable energy sources and some international and national legislative actions were taken to promote them. Consequently, also woody biomasses market had a big stimulus and experienced a rapid evolution: this thesis analyses Italian import trade flows during the period 1961-2009. The analysis is based on data bases (often not homogeneous) provided by Istat (Coeweb) and FAO (ForesSTAT) concerning the following commodities: wood fuel, wood charcoal, wood residues and woody chips and particles. Elaborations are shown both in an aggregate and commodity-specific way and are focused on quali-quantitative aspects. Supplying-areas, main exporting countries, stability of the Italian trade partnerships and import concentration are also investigated. Finally, some key issues related to future development are discussed: in particular, the conflict between energy and industrial use, the uncertainty of the future supplies and the possible Italian priority actions. Moreover, an evaluation of the relevance of having reliable and up-to-date statistical data is also discussed.openTES 73

Los cuidados como clave analítica acerca de lo comunitario : Articulaciones entre la universidad y el territorio

En este trabajo nos proponemos compartir algunas reflexiones que venimos trabajando desde el equipo de cátedra de Trabajo Social II (FTS-UNLP) en lo relativo a los cuidados como clave analítica acerca de lo comunitario en territorios de relegación social. Anudaremos estas reflexiones particularmente con los relatos puestos en común en los encuentros “Territorio Periurbano: Diálogos sobre derechos en contexto de pandemia” y “Diálogos sobre los efectos sociales de la pandemia y el valor colectivo en territorio” en donde participaron trabajadoras/es sociales cuyos espacios de inserción socio laboral están radicados en el territorio de Ensenada y el Periurbano Platense. Algunes de estes profesionales se desempeñan como referentes de las prácticas de formación profesional propuesta por la asignatura, por lo que la riqueza de sus reflexiones conlleva una potencia significativa también en ese aspecto.Mesa de trabajo 14: Intervenciones Eje temático 3: Procesos de producción y reproducción socialFacultad de Trabajo Socia

Determinants of Sovereign Bond Yield Spreads in the EMU. An Optimal Currency Area Perspective

In the light of the recent financial crisis, we take a panel cointegration approach that allows for structural breaks to the analysis of the determinants of sovereign bond yield spreads in nine economies of the European Monetary Union. While we find evidence for a level break in the cointegrating relationship, we do not find empirical support for a regime shift and hence for a change in the pricing of the determinants of sovereign spreads. Moreover, results show that (i) fiscal imbalances (namely expected government debt-to-GDP differentials) are the main long-run drivers of sovereign spreads; (ii) liquidity risks and cumulated inflation differentials have non-negligible weights; but (iii) all conclusions are ultimately connected to whether or not the sample of countries is composed of members of an Optimal Currency Area (OCA). In particular, we establish (i) that results are overall driven by those countries not passing the OCA test; and (ii) that investors closely monitor and severely punish the deterioration of expected debt positions of those economies exhibiting significant gaps in competitiveness

Unearthed opium. Development of a UHPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of Papaver somniferum alkaloids in Daunian vessels

Introduction: The analysis of organic residue in ancient vessels to investigate early-age civilization habits is an important archeological application that needs advanced analytical methods. However, these procedures should meet inherent requisites such as low sampling invasiveness and high sensitivity for trace analysis. This study deals with the development of advanced analytical methods for the detection of opium alkaloids in ceramic vessels and its first application to the study of Daunian pots dating back to the VIII-IV sec BC.Methods: All the stages of the analytical procedure, from sampling to analysis, were carefully optimized. Concerning sampling, the traditional scraping approach was compared with a swabbing strategy which permitted minimizing sample encroachment. Extraction was based on pressurized liquid extraction or ultrasound-assisted liquid extraction, followed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, which allowed concentration enrichment. On the other hand, a UHPLC-MS/MS method was specifically developed and validated to obtain reliable data. Some Daunian pots, belonging to the Ceci-Macrini private archeological collection, were selected for sample withdrawal as their iconography could suggest opium usage.Results: Several of the analyzed samples resulted positive to thebaine and less frequently to morphine and codeine; furthermore, 70% of the analyzed items tested positive for at least one opium alkaloid. Positive findings were common to all the samples collected in the pots, suggesting that scraping and swabbing provided comparable results and validating this unusual sampling strategy. All samples were additionally analyzed by UHPLC-HRMS to further improve the confidence level of the identified compounds. The obtained results shed new light on the hypothesis of opium usage by the ancient Daunian civilization. Furthermore, this study provided suitable analytical tools for further investigations on the same topic, with a good level of confidence in the quality of the results

Decision support tools and strategies to simulate forest landscape evolutions integrating forest owner behaviour: a review from the case studies of the European Project, INTEGRAL

For forest sustainability and vulnerability assessment, the landscape scale is considered to be more and more relevant as the stand level approaches its known limitations. This review, which describes the main forest landscape simulation tools used in the 20 European case studies of the European project “Future-oriented integrated management of European forest landscapes” (INTEGRAL), gives an update on existing decision support tools to run landscape simulation from Mediterranean to boreal ecosystems. The main growth models and software available in Europe are described, and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches are discussed. Trades-offs between input efforts and output are illustrated. Recommendations for the selection of a forest landscape simulator are given. The paper concludes by describing the need to have tools that are able to cope with climate change and the need to build more robust indicators for assessment of forest landscape sustainability and vulnerability.The INTEGRAL project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement No. 282887. http://www. integral-project.eu/. Moreover, financial support by the Transnational Access to Research Infrastructures activity in the 7th Framework Programme of the EC under the Trees4Future project (No. 284181) for conducting the research is gratefully acknowledged. This research has also received funding from the European Union H2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 691149 (SuFoRun). Researcher Jordi Garcia-Gonzalo was supported by a “Ramon y Cajal” research contract from the MINECO (Ref. RYC-2013-14262) and has received funding from CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya. This paper could be achieved thanks to support of EFIATLANTIC donors: Conseil regional d’Aquitaine, Ministère de l’agriculture et de la forêt

How sensitive are ecosystem services in European forest landscapes to silvicultural treatment?

While sustainable forestry in Europe is characterized by the provision of a multitude of forest ecosystem services, there exists no comprehensive study that scrutinizes their sensitivity to forest management on a pan-European scale, so far. We compile scenario runs from regionally tailored forest growth models and Decision Support Systems (DSS) from 20 case studies throughout Europe and analyze whether the ecosystem service provision depends on management intensity and other co-variables, comprising regional affiliation, social environment, and tree species composition. The simulation runs provide information about the case-specifically most important ecosystem services in terms of appropriate indicators. We found a strong positive correlation between management intensity and wood production, but only weak correlation with protective and socioeconomic forest functions. Interestingly, depending on the forest region, we found that biodiversity can react in both ways, positively and negatively, to increased management intensity. Thus, it may be in tradeoff or in synergy with wood production and forest resource maintenance. The covariables species composition and social environment are of punctual interest only, while the affiliation to a certain region often makes an important difference in terms of an ecosystem service’s treatment sensitivityinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Velocity of Ultrasonic Waves in Solutions of Electrolytes

List of the genes involved in CVDs according to DisGeNET database. For each gene all the related diseases and the putative EV-MiRNAs targeting it are indicated both as list and as number of occurrences. (PDF 1206 kb

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

The Role of Occupants in Buildings’ Energy Performance Gap: Myth or Reality?

Buildings’ expected (projected, simulated) energy use frequently does not match actual observations. This is commonly referred to as the energy performance gap. As such, many factors can contribute to the disagreement between expectations and observations. These include, for instance, uncertainty about buildings’ geometry, construction, systems, and weather conditions. However, the role of occupants in the energy performance gap has recently attracted much attention. It has even been suggested that occupants are the main cause of the energy performance gap. This, in turn, has led to suggestions that better models of occupant behavior can reduce the energy performance gap. The present effort aims at the review and evaluation of the evidence for such claims. To this end, a systematic literature search was conducted and relevant publications were identified and reviewed in detail. The review entailed the categorization of the studies according to the scope and strength of the evidence for occupants’ role in the energy performance gap. Moreover, deployed calculation and monitoring methods, normalization procedures, and reported causes and magnitudes of the energy performance gap were documented and evaluated. The results suggest that the role of occupants as significant or exclusive contributors to the energy performance gap is not sufficiently substantiated by evidence.</jats:p