New Insights into the Assessment of Protected Areas – Integrating Rural Development

DOI del libro: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/1399It is argued that protected areas (PAs) assessment framework should emphasise two important properties which are often disregarded, namely integration and participation. The implementation of such a dual approach permits the inclusion of rural development issues within current debates about PAs. Following this view, it is proposed an innovative assessment framework for integrating rural development into the assessment of PAs, i.e. the so-called Social Multi-criteria Evaluation (SMCE). Enforcement of this approach is illustrated through a real-world case study using SMCE in a Natura 2000 site in the Basque Country

Evaluación de la política de Espacios Naturales Protegidos: una propuesta metodológica para la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco

395 p.XI,II,394 p.[ES] El objetivo de la Tesis Doctoral es la elaboración de una herramienta metodológica para la evaluación de la política de Espacios Naturales Protegidos (ENPs) de la CAPV, aunque su aplicación sea trasladable a otros ámbitos territoriales. El contenido, proceso de elaboración y funcionalidad de esta herramienta ha de considerar las siguientes características: a) una visión transdisciplinar que asuma los múltiples atributos de los ENPs (ambientales, económicos, sociales, institucionales, etc.); b) la participación en el proceso de evaluación de actores sociales con intereses en el lugar y de aquéllos directamente implicados en la gestión del espacio; c) ha de servir a la toma de decisiones en el marco de la política de conservación de la naturaleza. La herramienta propuesta se basa en la Evaluación Multicriterio Social (EMCS) y ha sido testada en un espacio Natura 2000 de la CAPV con alentadores resultados.[EN] The aim of the doctoral thesis is the development of a methodological tool for evaluating protected areas policy in the Basque Country, although its application is transferable to other geographical areas. The content, development process and functionality of this tool must consider the following features: a) a trans-disciplinary approach which assumes the multiple attributes of protected areas (environmental, economic, social, institutional, etc.); b) participation in the evaluation process of stakeholders and site managers; c) it must be used for decision-making within conservation policy framework. The proposed tool is based on the Social Multi-criteria Evaluation (SMCE) and has been tested in a Natura 2000 site of the Basque Country with promising results.[EUS] Doktorego tesiaren helburua Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoko (EAE) Natura-eremu Babestuen (NEB) politika ebaluatzeko gai den tresna metodologiko bat eraikitzea da, nahiz eta beste eremu geografiko batzutan ere aplikagarria izan daitekeen. Tresna honen edukiak, aplikazio-prozesuak eta funtzionalitateak honako ezaugarri hauek izan behar ditu aintzat: a) zehar-disziplina ikuspegia jasotzea, zeinaren bidez NEBen atributu anitzak onartzen diren (ingurumenekoak, ekonomikoak, sozialak, instituzionalak, etb.); b) tokian interesak dituzten aktore sozialek zein eremu babestuko kudeatzaileek ebaluazio prozesuan parte hartzea; c) naturaren babes politikaren esparrupean erabakiak hartzeko balio behar du. Proposatutako tresna Irizpide-anitzeko Ebaluazio Sozialean oinarritzen da eta EAEko Natura 2000 eremu batean izan da aplikatua emaitza oparoak lortuz

Landa-garapen politika eta ingurumenarekiko harremana Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoan (1992-2008)

[EUS] Landa-garapeneko politikek, eremu horietako ohiko jardueren sustapena eta berregituratze sozioekonomikoa bultzatzeaz gain, lurralde-antolaketa zein ingurumen-esparru gero eta garrantzitsuagoak barneratu dituzte beren proposamenetan. Artikulu honek horixe aztertzen du, zein izan den landa-garapen politikaren ingurumentze prozesua Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoan, alegia. Basogintza eta nekazaritza-ingurumen neurriez gain, prozesu honetan arreta berezia merezi du Natura Eremu Babestuen politikak, zeina neurri handian landa-garapenekoarekin uztartu egiten den funtzionalki zein kronologikoki.[ENG] Rural development policies, apart from revitalizating traditional activities and promoting socioeconomic restructuration within rural areas, have included a vision increasingly relying on land planning and environmental issues. The article analyzes just this, i.e. the environmentalization process that the rural development policy has undergone in the Basque Country. Apart from forestry and agri-environmental mesures, in this process must be paid attention on Natural Protected Areas policy, which to a certain extent merges with rural policy in terms of function and time horizon

Weak or Strong Sustainability in Rural Land Use Planning? Assessing Two Case Studies through Multi-Criteria Analysis

This paper addresses the debate regarding weak versus strong sustainability in the field of rural land use planning. Both concepts correspond to opposing paradigms on sustainability and both their fundamentals of economic roots and comparative analyses from a theoretical point of view enjoy a contrasting trajectory. However, their inclusion in land use planning has been an issue not sufficiently studied despite their relevance in the field of local development and sustainability. The aim of this study is to shed light on this gap by exploring the assessment of the degree of sustainability in rural land use planning. To this end, two case studies involving forestry in the Basque Country (Spain) have been analyzed based on a multi-criteria analysis technique. As a result, we have observed the importance of setting thresholds in the valuations of the criteria, as well as the effect of varying such thresholds above the compensability degree.This research has received funding from EKOPOL Research Group (Basque Government-UPV/EHU-IT-1365-19)

The management of Natura 2000 Network sites: a discrete choice experiment approach

One of the main problems that public institutions face in the management of protected areas, such as the European Natura 2000 network, is how to design and implement sustainable management plans accounting both for the social cost and benefits of conserving these sites. This paper provides with an empirical application of a discrete choice experiment undertaken in a Natura 2000 site in the Basque Country (Spain) aimed at evaluating the social preferences for different land-use options. This information is then used to evaluate the social desirability of some future management plans.environmental valuation, discrete choice experiments, choice modelling, Natura 2000

Planificando la movilidad en Vitoria-Gasteiz : actuaciones innovadoras frente a limitaciones estructurales

En este artículo se analiza la planificación de la movilidad en Vitoria-Gasteiz, una ciudad con un destacado compromiso a favor del medio ambiente. El análisis aborda los principales elementos innovadores del Plan de Movilidad Sostenible y Espacio Público, destacando su impacto sobre el patrón de movilidad y la recualificación del espacio público. No obstante, se subrayan las limitaciones con que se encuentran las políticas de movilidad en la medida en que no se consideran un elemento estratégico en la planificación de la ciudad

To What Extent Are Cattle Ranching Landholders Willing to Restore Ecosystem Services? Constructing a Micro-Scale PES Scheme in Southern Costa Rica

Deforestation and the unsustainable management of agricultural and livestock production systems in tropical mountain areas have caused fragmented and degraded landscapes. Payment for ecosystem services (PES) could be an effective policy instrument with which to reduce deforestation and restore disturbed ecosystems. The national-scale PES program in Costa Rica is recognized as being successful; however, its financial resources have been mostly dedicated to forest protection, and much less to reforestation projects. This paper aims to construct a micro-scale PES scheme by using primary data generated through spatial modeling and socio-economic and stated preference surveys (choice experiment) in southern Costa Rica. The results suggest that, on average, landholders would agree to implement restoration projects on their own private pasturelands if an appropriate holistic place-based approach was applied encompassing biophysical, social, economic, and institutional aspects. Willingness-to-accept values allow payments to be linked to cattle farmers’ estimates of specific ecosystem services (ES) and land opportunity costs. The economic valuation of three ESs (erosion control, water availability, and biodiversity) allows construction of a layered payment scheme, which could encourage the development of a potential partnership between national and local institutions and NGOs as alternative buyers of ESs, reduce transaction costs, and improve household well-being.This research was funded by Fondo de Becas CeNAT-CONARE, Costa Rica, https://cenat.ac.cr/ (accessed on 28 April 2021). The publication process was partly financed by the EKOPOL Research group, recognized by the Basque Government (IT-1365-19)

The management of Natura 2000 Network sites: a discrete choice experiment approach

One of the main problems that public institutions face in the management of protected areas, such as the European Natura 2000 network, is how to design and implement sustainable management plans accounting both for the social cost and benefits of conserving these sites. This paper provides with an empirical application of a discrete choice experiment undertaken in a Natura 2000 site in the Basque Country (Spain) aimed at evaluating the social preferences for different land-use options. This information is then used to evaluate the social desirability of some future management plans.The authors acknowledge the the financial support from the Department of Education of the Basque Government through grant IT-334-07 (UPV/EHU Econometrics Research Group)

Gobernanza, procesos participativos y conflictos en los Espacios Naturales Protegidos de la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco

[ES] El objetivo del artículo es explorar la potencialidad de la Evaluación Multi-criterio Social como enfoque metodológico para evaluar Espacios Naturales Protegidos (ENP) e iniciar un proceso de discusión sobre la conveniencia de incorporar esta metodología para la gobernanza de la Red Natura 2000 de la Comunidad Autónoma de Euskadi. Del caso de estudio analizado se desprende que la inclusión de la población local en un proceso participativo dirigido a la planificación y manejo de los ENP contribuiría a reducir el número y calado de conflictos potenciales. Asimismo, facilitaría la gobernanza efectiva de los ENP, lo que parece un reto ineludible para que las áreas protegidas logren sus objetivos y funciones.[EUS] Gizarte Ebaluazio Irizpideaniztunak naturagune babestuak ebaluatzeko ikuspuntu metodologiko gisa duen potentzialtasuna aztertzea da artikulu honen helburua, eta orobat metodologia hori Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoko Natura 2000 Sarearen gobernantzarako erabiltzearen egokitasunari buruz eztabaida-prozesu bat abiaraztea. Aztertutako kasutik ondorioztatzen da tokian tokiko herritarrak naturagune babestuak planifikatzeko eta gobernatzeko prozesu partehartzaile batean sartzeak balizko gatazken kopurua eta munta gutxitzen lagunduko lukeela. Era berean, naturagune babestuen gobernantza erraztuko luke, eta hori saihestu ezineko erronka da, gune babestuek beren helburuak eta egitekoak bete ditzaten.[EN] The aim of this article is to explore the potentiality of Social Multi-criteria Evaluation as approach to assess Natural Protected Areas (NPAs). Jointly, opening the discussion about incorporating this methodological approach for the governance of Natura 2000 sites within the Basque Country is pursued. Derived from the case study is concluded that including local community in participative processes aimed to plan and manage NPAs would reduce both number and significance of potential conflicts. It would also contribute to an effective governance of NPAs, which is an unavoidable challenge in order to achieve protected areas’ objectives and functions

Propuesta de valoración zoogeográfica para la evaluación de los espacios Red Natura 2000 de la CAPV. El ejemplo de Gárate-Santa Bárbara (País Vasco)

El artículo se centra en un método de inventariación y valoración zoogeográfica que se inserta dentro de un proyecto de investigación financiado por el Gobierno Vasco (Departamento de Medio Ambiente y Ordenación Territorial) y por el IHOBE (Sociedad Pública de Gestión Ambiental) en la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco (CAPV). El objetivo fundamental es el desarrollo de una herramienta metodológica para la valoración y evaluación socioeconómica y ambiental de los Espacios Red Natura 2000 de la CAPV. Dicho modelo, puesto en marcha en el LIC Gárate-Santa Bárbara, quiere ser aplicado al resto de los espacios protegidos de la CAPV como herramienta de evaluación, ordenación y gestión. Se muestran, de esta manera, los resultados parciales derivados de la valoración zoogeográfica dentro de este espacio