Zonal travel cost approaches to assess recreational wild mushroom picking value: Trade-offs between online and onsite data collection strategies

Mushroom picking is a growing recreational activity in Europe. Since the institutional environment moves towards regulating mycological resources, estimating the value of this ecosystem service becomes a key tool for policy-makers and rural entrepreneurs. This paper applies the Travel Cost (TC) method to estimate the value of mushroom picking in three forest areas in the region of Catalonia, Spain. In particular, the main objective is to contrast different sampling strategies (online vs. onsite data collection) when used to build zonal Travel Cost models. This intends to guide practitioners towards choosing the best sampling strategy according to existing time, monetary and accuracy constraints. Eight TC models were derived using as regressors the zonal travel cost and selected picking and socio-economic variables. The resulting demand curves produce an estimate of the average site value per trip that ranges from 9 to 22€/visit considering the onsite data, and from 21 to 47 €/visit for zonal TC implemented on the online data. These results reveal estimate differences across the approaches, and especially evident for one picking ground (Els Ports). Our results point out that onsite surveys would be better suited when exploring the sample for an initial set up of permit fees, to set the permit boundaries and initial applications. On the other hand, the online data collection presents the problem of self-selection and self-reporting bias. We recommend practitioners to always perform a proper assessment of the effects of the context, chosen sampling strategy, and validity of assumptions when adopting valuation estimates for establishing a recreational price of ecosystem services.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Exploring spatial and temporal resilience in socio‐ecological systems: evidence from sacred forests in Epirus, Greece

Socio-ecological resilience is the capacity of a system to adapt to changing eco-logical and social disturbances. Its assessment is extremely important to integrate long-term management of ecological and social features of natural ecosystems. This is especially true for Sacred Natural Sites, such as sacred forests and groves, where it can reveal the influence of social processes in ecosystem recovery or degradation. Using tree ages determined through dendrochronology and tree population size- class distributions collected in five sacred forests in Epirus (NW Greece), we explore spatial and temporal dynamics of resilience in a socio-ecological system, identifying which cultural and social elements characterize resilience in space and time. Our main results show that over past centuries sacred forests in Epirus underwent periods of varying tree establishment rate, depending on the intensity of human activities and historical disturbance events. We also identified strong evidence of the role of the social component (i.e. the church and associated cultural praxis) in determining the spatial extent of the forests' current recovery phase, and thus the overall resilience of the system. Policy implications. Appreciation of the ways sacred forests' ecological resilience is linked to changing socio-cultural praxis over both temporal and spatial scales is crucial for guiding conservation and restoration strategies. We argue that greater attention should be paid to the role of the social component of socio-ecological systems and specifically for sacred natural sites that provide both a nucleus of established forest habitat and the conditions necessary for forest recovery and restoration

Ανάλυση και μοντελοποίηση κοινωνικο-οικολογικών αλληλεπιδράσεων στα ιερά δάση της βορειοδυτικής Ελλάδας

The purpose of this thesis is to disentangle the relative influence of ecological and social processes in the composition, spatial patterning and temporal extent of Sacred Natural Sites (SNS). SNSs are natural places with spiritual and religious significance for local communities. They are peculiar coupled socio-ecological systems arising from long-lasting interactions between ecological processes and anthropogenic influences. SNSs have been recently recognized as providers of crucial nonmaterial benefits related to human-nature relationships. However, how different ecological and social processes interact in time and space influencing their formation remains a largely unexplored topic. This is especially relevant, as SNSs face increasing risks of degradation due the cultural and demographic changes occurred in the past decades (e.g. depopulation of rural areas, knowledge loss of traditional management practices). We use ecological and social data, collected on a sample of sacred forests in Northwestern Greece, to: (i) understand the main socio-ecological processes that led to the sacred forests establishment, (ii) identify spatial (i.e. forests extent and boundaries) and temporal (i.e. forests’ establishments) patterns across sacred forests; (iii) model the spatial extent of sacred forests over time to quantify how social processes impact the forest expansion. We do this through an interdisciplinary methodology, which combines diverse set of data stemming from different sources (data on forest structure and vegetation, tree rings data, ethnographic data) integrated and analysed in the thesis using both quantitative and qualitative techniques (statistical analysis, spatial analysis, environmental modelling). According to the findings of this thesis, we conclude that it is possible to disentangle the relative influence of ecological and social processes in the composition, spatial patterning and temporal extent of SNS. In the context of sacred forests in northwestern Greece, results suggest that traditional management practices and social beliefs are main drivers in defining the spatial structure of sacred forests, and in preserving them as time passes. Unfolding the role of these processes is fundamental for understanding how the historical change in cultural practices related to management of sacred sites has determined the trajectory of their vegetation composition and function. This analysis provides the first multidisciplinary assessment of SNSs role in a changing society, giving clearer perspectives on how to design conservation practices tailored to SNSs facing cultural abandonment.Σκοπός αυτής της διατριβής είναι να διερευνήσει τη σχετική επίδραση των οικολογικών και κοινωνικών διαδικασιών στη σύνθεση, τη χωρική διαμόρφωση και το μέγεθος διαχρονικά των Ιερών Φυσικών Τόπων (ΙΦΤ). Ιεροί Φυσικοί Τόποι υπάρχουν σε πολλές περιοχές του κόσμου και έχουν πνευματική και θρησκευτική σημασία για τις τοπικές κοινότητες. Πρόκειται για ιδιόμορφα, συζευγμένα κοινωνικο-οικολογικά συστήματα που διαμορφώνονται από μακροχρόνιες αλληλεπιδράσεις μεταξύ οικολογικών διαδικασιών και ανθρωπογενών επιδράσεων. Οι ΙΦΤ αναγνωρίστηκαν πρόσφατα ως πάροχοι ζωτικών μη-υλικών ωφελειών που συνδέονται με τη σχέση ανθρώπου-φύσης. Ωστόσο, το πώς οι διάφορες οικολογικές και κοινωνικές διαδικασίες αλληλεπιδρούν στο χρόνο και στο χώρο επηρεάζοντας τη διαμόρφωσή τους παραμένει σε μεγάλο βαθμό ανεξερεύνητο θέμα. Αυτό είναι ιδιαίτερα σημαντικό, καθώς πολλοί ΙΦΤ αντιμετωπίζουν υψηλούς κινδύνους υποβάθμισης λόγω των πολιτισμικών και δημογραφικών αλλαγών που σημειώθηκαν τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες (π.χ. ερήμωση αγροτικών περιοχών, απώλεια γνώσεων παραδοσιακών πρακτικών διαχείρισης, κ.ά). Στην προσπάθεια να συμβάλουμε στη διερεύνηση αυτού του θέματος, επιλέξαμε προς μελέτη έναν αριθμό ιερών δασών στη βορειοδυτική Ελλάδα και συλλέξαμε και αναλύσαμε δεδομένα τόσο οικολογικού όσο και κοινωνικού χαρακτήρα. Στο πρώτο Κεφάλαιο, εκτιμάμε και αξιολογούμε τις σχετικές επιπτώσεις των φυσικών περιβαλλοντικών παραγόντων και των καθεστώτων διαχείρισης στη δομή και τη σύνθεση ομάδων ξυλωδών φυτών σε έξι ιερά δάση στην περιοχή της Ηπείρου. Στο δεύτερο και τρίτο κεφάλαιο, εξετάζουμε τη χωροχρονική δυναμική των κοινωνικών και οικολογικών διαδικασιών που επηρεάζουν τα ιερά δάση. Στo τελευταίο κεφάλαιο, αναπτύσσουμε ένα μοντέλο που να μπορεί να εκτιμήσει πώς αλλάζει η έκταση που καταλαμβάνουν τα ιερά δάση με βάση τους ποικίλλους κοινωνικο-οικολογικούς παράγοντες και περιορισμούς που επιβάλλουν. Σύμφωνα με τα ευρήματα αυτής της διατριβής, καταλήγουμε στο συμπέρασμα ότι είναι δυνατόν να προσδιοριστεί η σχετική επίδραση των οικολογικών και κοινωνικών διαδικασιών στη σύνθεση, τη χωρική διαμόρφωση και την έκταση διαχρονικά των ΙΦΤ (υπό την προϋπόθεση ότι είναι διαθέσιμο ή μπορεί να συλλεχθεί ένα σύνολο απαραίτητων οικολογικών και κοινωνικών δεδομένων). Χρησιμοποιώντας τα ιερά δάση στη βορειοδυτική Ελλάδα ως περιοχή μελέτης, αναγνωρίσαμε πώς αυτά εξελίσσονται δυναμικά στο χώρο ως αντίδραση σε μια σειρά κοινωνικο-οικολογικών διαδικασιών, οι οποίες επηρεάζουν και την εσωτερική σύνθεση και τη δομή τους. Παρόλο που οι οικολογικοί παράγοντες διαδραματίζουν έναν κρίσιμο ρόλο στη διαμόρφωση της δυναμικής των θέσεων που καταλαμβάνουν, διαπιστώσαμε ότι ορισμένες κοινωνικές διαδικασίες είναι επίσης ζωτικής σημασίας για την ποιότητα των ΙΦΤ ως προς τη σύνθεση και τη χωρική διαμόρφωσή τους. Ανάμεσά τους συγκαταλέγονται κανόνες απαγόρευσης και πολιτισμικές ιεροπραξίες, διαχείριση της εξωτερικής ζώνης του δάσους και τάσεις του πληθυσμού. Η αποκάλυψη του ρόλου αυτών των διαδικασιών είναι θεμελιώδης για την κατανόηση του τρόπου με τον οποίο η ιστορική αλλαγή στις πρακτικές που σχετίζονται με τη διαχείριση των ιερών τόπων έχει καθορίσει τη δυναμική τους, ως προς τη διαμόρφωση της βλάστησης και τη λειτουργίας τους. Αυτή η ανάλυση αποτελεί την πρώτη διεπιστημονική αξιολόγηση του ρόλου των ΙΦΤ σε μια μεταβαλλόμενη κοινωνία και μπορεί να συμβάλει στο σχεδιασμό πρακτικών διαχείρισης προσαρμοσμένων στη διατήρηση ΙΦΤ που αντιμετωπίζουν πολιτισμική εγκατάλειψη

The economics of green transition strategies for cities: Can low carbon,energy efficient development approaches be adapted to demand side urban water efficiency?

Cities are major contributors to global emissions, producers of waste and consumers of resources such as energy, water and food: implementing green development strategies is hence a core challenge of modern city-planning. The attention of research has been focusing on the development of energy efficient, low carbon strategies, yet city decision-makers need truly integrated approaches, as the one proposed by the water-energy-food Nexus. The purpose of our paper is to investigate whether it is possible to take one step in this direction by extending existing approaches to energy efficiency strategies to progressively include other priority resources, in particular water. To test this hypothesis we have taken a robust and well accepted methodology, the ELCC (Economics of Low Carbon development strategies for Cities) developed by SEI and CCCEP, and we have extended it to the case of demand side water efficiency strategies for cities. We have then applied the adapted ELCC framework to the case study of the domestic sector of the city of Bologna (Italy), identifying and prioritizing several efficiency measures. Measures were evaluated through their capital investment, annual values of savings, payback period and reduction in consumption, and then aggregated in different scenarios in order to highlight potential urban investments and to showcase a possible approach to the prioritization of demand side water efficiency measures. The results show that, with an upfront investment of s 17 million, a feasible subset of Bologna’s households could be equipped with five selected cost-effective measures, generating annual savings of s 10.2 million and reducing the total domestic water consumption of 34% by 2020 compared to the 2012 initial value. With additional s 28.5 million, households could be equipped with more costly appliances reaching an overall water reduction of 37% by 2020. Our findings confirm that it is possible to successfully extend current approaches to urban energy efficiency strategies to include demand side water efficiency, adding an important building block to the construction of an integrated Nexus-based approach to green development strategies at the city-level. We encourage further tests to confirm the robustness of the methodology

Application of a Comprehensive Methodology for the Evaluation of Social Innovations in Rural Communities

Despite the growing interest in social innovation (SI) in agriculture, the literature lacks validated tools for evaluating such initiatives. This paper provides an empirical application of the evaluation approach developed within the H2020 SIMRA project to a pilot experience conducted in a rural area of Southern Italy. The value added by this case study is the application of the five types of criteria used by the OECD for the evaluation of development programs, which are commonly referred to as REEIS: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability. This experiment demonstrates the adequacy of the evaluation framework in identifying strengths and weaknesses of the initiative, according to a multifaceted perspective. The overall evaluation proves that most indicators fall under the high (48%) and medium categories (36%), and only few indicators are low (16%). The usefulness of the evaluation results is manifold. First, this evaluation highlights relevant arguments to support the communication strategy addressed at civil society, therefore reinforcing the civic engagement of the initiative, which is the distinctive feature of SI. Second, it supports project managers in addressing interventions to face emerging weaknesses. Finally, the evaluation provides factual evidence to policy makers to perform cost-effective analysis of rural development policies

Application of a Comprehensive Methodology for the Evaluation of Social Innovations in Rural Communities

Despite the growing interest in social innovation (SI) in agriculture, the literature lacks validated tools for evaluating such initiatives. This paper provides an empirical application of the evaluation approach developed within the H2020 SIMRA project to a pilot experience conducted in a rural area of Southern Italy. The value added by this case study is the application of the five types of criteria used by the OECD for the evaluation of development programs, which are commonly referred to as REEIS: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability. This experiment demonstrates the adequacy of the evaluation framework in identifying strengths and weaknesses of the initiative, according to a multifaceted perspective. The overall evaluation proves that most indicators fall under the high (48%) and medium categories (36%), and only few indicators are low (16%). The usefulness of the evaluation results is manifold. First, this evaluation highlights relevant arguments to support the communication strategy addressed at civil society, therefore reinforcing the civic engagement of the initiative, which is the distinctive feature of SI. Second, it supports project managers in addressing interventions to face emerging weaknesses. Finally, the evaluation provides factual evidence to policy makers to perform cost-effective analysis of rural development policies

THALIS-SAGE “Conservation through religion. The sacred groves of Epirus”

Unraveling the socio-ecological hsitory and dynamics of sacred forests in NW Greec

EU’s H2020 RIA FoodLAND GA No 862802 (T2.2 Behavioural economics research on consumers’ food preferences and choices)

The FoodLAND H2020 project (FOOD and Local, Agricultural, and Nutritional Diversity) aims to develop, implement and validate innovative, scalable and sustainable technologies aimed at supporting the nutrition performance of local food systems in Africa, while strengthening agro-biodiversity and food diversity as well as diversity of healthy diets