104 research outputs found
Orchestrating Forest Policy in Italy: Mission Impossible?
In the Italian political and economic agenda the forest sector occupies a marginal role. The forest sector in Italy is characterized by a high institutional fragmentation and centralized decision-making processes dominated by Public Forest Administrations. Public participation in forest policy processes has been implemented since the 1990s at national, regional and local levels in several cases. However, today no significant changes have been observed in the overall governance of the forest sector and stakeholders' involvement in Italian forest policy decision-making is still rather limited. The aims of this paper are to describe the state of forest-related participatory processes in Italy at various levels (national, regional and local) and identify which factors and actors hinder or support the establishment and implementation of participatory forest-related processes in the country. The forest-related participatory processes are analyzed adopting a qualitative-based approach and interpreting interactive, complex and non-linear participatory processes through the lens of panarchy theory
Ecosystem services' values and improved revenue collection for regional protected areas.
The management of conservation areas is a costly enterprise, especially vulnerable to budget cutting when austerity measures are being considered. Optimal spatial taxation dictates that tax-payers contribute proportionally to the benefits they receive. This paper provides a framework to derive spatially varied benefit estimates for ecosystem services produced in Natura 2000 protected areas of Lombardy (Italy). These may be used as a framework for spatially optimised taxation to improve the efficiency of public funding. In the process we used non-market valuation techniques, as well as benefit functionsâ transfer
Certifying forest-based ecosystem services: results from the world-first application of the FSC ecosystem service procedure in Italy
In recent years, several mechanisms have been put in practice to value forest-based ecosystem services in order to maintain or enhance their provision. Mechanisms range from more traditional - e.g. regulation of land use, taxes and subsidies - to more innovative market-based ones such as Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES). More recently, the use of voluntary third-party forest certification schemes based on standards and procedures specifically aimed at considering the provision of ecosystem services has gained interests. Certification schemes have already been established for specific ecosystem services, in particular focusing on carbon, in some cases including biodiversity conservation as a co-benefit. The Forest Stewardship Council\uae (FSC) is currently the only scheme promoting the certification of multiple ecosystem services by demonstrating the positive impacts of FSC-certified forest management practices on five regulating and cultural services. A dedicated procedure has been developed, that allows the assessment of the impact of forest management on carbon sequestration and storage, biodiversity conservation, watershed services, soil conservation and recreational services, by means of specific methodologies and indicators. We critically analyzed the world-first application of the FSC ecosystem services certification procedure with reference to the forest certification group Waldplus and Associazione Forestale di Pianura (Lowland Forest Association) in northern Italy. The case study includes 1,043 hectares of different forest types, from semi-natural productive forests to conservation forests, traditionally managed to deliver multiple benefits. Our objective is to give insights that could inform and improve future developments in the field of certification, promotion and marketing of ecosystem services
Multiple dimensions and roles of Non-Wood Forest Products within bioeconomy: examples from Northern and Southern perspectives
Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) make an important contribution to livelihoods, diets, and recreation for people across the world. Particularly in developing countries, NWFPs are essential for subsistence as nutritionally relevant foods, source of medicines, energy, and construction materials. Moreover, their commercialization also provides earnings for cash-constrained households. NWFPs are important items also in western societies, where they can be found as key ingredients in a surprising number of food and medicinal products. Moreover, many still directly collect NWFPs for self-consumption, for leisure, and for trade. This paper presents results on the roles played by NWFPs in developing and developed countries. On the one hand it provides insights from research conducted in select forest and non-forest communities in two African countries (Uganda and Zambia), demonstrating their role in providing important nutrients year-round, as well as their potential to form the basis of sustainable, economically viable and nutrition-sensitive value chains. On the other, it presents the results of a survey conducted on a large panel of European households (17,000 respondents), revealing that about 90% of these consume NWFPs at least once per year and a surprisingly high share, almost 25%, harvest NWFPs. Moreover, data from two European case-studies illustrate how NWFPs harvesting can originate recreational opportunities and earnings in rural areas. While research results in the different contexts are not directly comparable due to different methods and scale of application, they provide useful insights on the versatile role of NWFPs under different conditions, development stages and aspects of the bioeconomy
Chapter 3. Quantifying Illegal Logging and Related Timber Trade
Understanding the magnitude of illegal logging and related timber trade as well as illegal trade flows is critical to addressing the problem. This chapter provides an overview of the estimates of illegal logging and related international timber trade, as well as providing a summary and comparison of estimation methods. Major legal and illegal international timber trade flows are portrayed along with domestic, regional and global wood products markets, and supply chains representing key agents in producer, processing and consumer countries. The chapter also presents financial flows associated with illegal logging and timber trade. Finally, data gaps are identified, and new developments in illegal logging and timber trade are discussed along with possible solutions
Forests and forest-wood system in Italy: towards a new strategy to address local and global challenges
Forest cover in Italy has increased three-fold in slightly more than a century. In 2018 the area covered by forest will be, for the first time since long, larger than that covered by active cultivation. In the same time, the stewardship of forest ecosystem services such as biodiversity provision, hydrogeological protection, and landscape conservation has increased. More than 27% of Italian forests are included in protected areas; 86% of forests is subject to limitation of use connected to soil protection and water cycle regulation, and 100% is under the landscape conservation law. Italy is also home of one of the largest economies of wood transformation, but 80% of the raw material is imported, which implies several environmental, socio-economic, and ethical issues, both domestically and abroad. The conditions are ripe to plan for a responsible management of the natural capital in the country\u2019s forests. A forest management that is active, shared, and conscious of domestic and global implications will be the best chance to maintain and improve the ecosystem services provided by forests in Italy
New Interest in Wild Forest Products in Europe as an Expression of Biocultural Dynamics
Does the Italian National Institute of Statistics know that woods and forests do exist in Italy?
Taking into account the last National Report of ISTAT (The Italian National Institute of Statistics), the present paper deals with the astonishing fact that forest chain has not been considered nor cited. The importance of woods and timber is highlighted, in connection with the great range of ecosystem services forests are providing to the entire society
Le biomasse legnose a fini energetici: una potenzialit\ue0 o un problema nella gestione delle foreste italiane?
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