Influence of Wind Turbines on Farmlands’ Value: Exploring the Behaviour of a Rural Community through the Decision Tree

The relationship between wind energy and rural areas leads to the controversial debate on the effects declared by rural communities after wind farms or single turbines are operative. The literature on this topic lacks dedicated studies analysing how the behaviour of rural communities towards wind turbines can affect the market value of farmlands. This research aims to examine to the extent to which the easement of wind turbines can influence the market value of farmlands in terms of willingness to pay (WTP) by a small rural community, and to identify the main factors affecting the WTP. Starting from data collected via face-to-face interviews, a decision tree is then applied to investigate the WTP for seven types of farmland in a rural town of Puglia Region (Southern Italy) hosting a wind farm. Results of the interviews show a broad acceptance of the wind farm, while the decision tree classification shows a significant reduction of WTP for all farmlands. The main factors influencing the WTP are the education level, the possibility to increase the income, the concerns for impacts on human health and for maintenance workmen. National and local policy measures have to be put in place to inform rural communities about the ‘magnitude’ of the effects they identified as crucial, so that policy-makers and private bodies will contribute to make the farmland market more equitable

Recovery and Resilience of the Inner Areas: Identifying Collective Policy Actions through PROMETHEE II

Inner areas are rural areas with low population density, distant from the main hotspots offering essential welfare services and endowed with significant environmental assets and cultural heritage. In Italy, their development is at the core of the national strategy for inner areas. Specific documents and program agreements were issued for each inner area and summarized the intervention themes and projects to implement. However, when the inner areas are considered within a regional territorial ‘matrix’, further collective policy actions have to be identified, through comparison and in-depth analysis of their features and influence on development. Therefore, this research aims to identify and analyse the development needs and potentialities of the inner areas, for strengthening the national strategy and improving their recovery and resilience through collective policy actions. The Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA) method PROMETHEE II was applied as research methodology to four inner areas in Puglia region (southern Italy), using 43 indicators organized into seven thematic dimensions and setting specific parameters. The results enabled to delineate the overall development score of the four inner areas, and the profile of each inner area based on every indicator and dimension. By analysing this profile, key thematic dimensions where to direct collective policy actions were identified, related mainly to contrast with the depopulation by improving specific essential services (e.g., digitalization, health, education) and to foster the development of agriculture, tourism, and cultural heritage. This research can be considered a first step for future broader studies, to guide the process of policy making for the recovery and resilience of European and Italian inner areas with a multi-perspective approach

Fishery policy in the European Union: A multiple criteria approach for assessing sustainable management of Coastal Development Plans in Southern Italy

Fishery planning and management require environmental, social, and economic assessment that should take into account multiple sustainability criteria as well as the preferences and priorities of decision-makers involved in these complex issues. Therefore, this research aims to identify in a straightforward way the most sustainable coastal development plan (CDP) among a set of several CDPs and to investigate in depth the effective sustainable use of the public fishery's fund among the considered CDPs. This is accomplished by implementing a multiple criteria decision aiding (MCDA) framework that has been tested by six fisheries’ local action groups (FLAGs) CDPs in a territorial system strongly affected by fishery activities in the Apulia region of Southern Italy. In particular, the framework was classified into 12 criteria grouped into three sustainability dimensions according to the actions identified by the CDPs; the data collection was carried out by consulting the CDPs. After collecting the data, the MCDA framework was applied by involving the regional consultant on fishery affairs. An analysis of the results clearly showed that the best performances in the distribution of the available funding were related to the coherence of the CDPs with specific environmental, social, and economic features. The proposed MCDA framework can represent support for decision-makers and stakeholders to consider and evaluate in a systematic and robust way different possibilities for funding distribution to detect optimal alternatives within European fishery policies

The Dominance-based Rough Set Approach for analysing patterns of flexibility allocation and design-cost criteria in large-scale irrigation systems

Water planners must provide end-users with reliable and high-quality access to fresh water while complying with financial, institutional, and water availability constraints. In the pursuit of these goals, an over-investment in design can result in stranded assets of significant value and often unwanted environmental implications. Under-investment can lead to supply restrictions affecting human health, the economy, and the environment. The present study uses the Dominance-based Rough Set Approach (DRSA) to develop a balancing strategy concerning complexities encountered in water resource planning for irrigation systems. The methodology relies on the Dominance-based Learning from Examples Module (DOMLEM) algorithm, which extracts minimal set of rules regarding relevant combinations between flexibility allocation and design-cost criteria. The algorithm delineates outcomes in the form of “if., then.” rules that translate decision possibilities facing water planners into: “if (the design is more flexible by this amount), then (we expect this range of cost increment”). Then, a confusion matrix is computed for each irrigation system in order to exclude the rules generating incorrect and ambiguous classification results. The outcome reveals that cost is more subject to elasticity at the hydrant (eh) increment than the network’s coefficient (r). Furthermore, the analysis reveals that the parameter P(q) has only a minor impact on the cost and, as a result, the final decision. Any elasticity (eh) less than 3 assigned to any given coefficient (r) becomes a low-cost increment. For any given value of (eh), the cost increases as the coefficient (r) decrease. Elasticity from 4 to 5 with a network's coefficient (r) equal to or greater than 18/24 becomes a medium-cost increment. Elasticity (eh) from 5 to 6 associated with an (r) equal or less than 16/24 becomes a very high-cost increment. Finally, rather than identifying one solution that seems better than others, this approach provides an interactive schematic that helps identify the appropriate range of flexibility justified by the expense criterion, which allows for debate and supports decision-making

Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food and nutrition security

Food wastage (i.e., food losses and waste [FLW]) refers to a decrease in the quantity of food intended for human consumption along the food chain (from production to consumption). FLW are recognized as a global issue, as over a third of the global food production is lost or wasted, with impacts on both food and nutrition security and on food systems sustainability. This chapter analyzes the issues of FLW in the context of food and nutrition security. It also explores the causes of FLW as well as their environmental and economic implications. Moreover, the chapter relates FLW to food systems (un)sustainability. Food wastage represents a loss of valuable nutrients; thus the chapter goes beyond food security (cf. caloric energy and kcal) and looks to the nutritional value of food wasted (cf. nutrients, minerals, vitamins). The reduction of FLW is essential to achieve sustainable food and nutrition security for present and future generations within the safe operating space for humanity

Information and communication technologies for smart and sustainable agriculture

Agriculture faces different environmental, economic and social challenges that make the case for transition towards sustainability. Digitization is one of the most significant ongoing transformation processes in global agriculture. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) range from traditional communication aids (e.g. telephones, televisions), internet and mobile applications, to Big Data analytics and information systems, Cloud computing, Internet of Things, remote sensing and drones, blockchain and artificial intelligence. Different terms have been used to refer to the application of ICTs in agriculture e.g. digital agriculture, e-agriculture, smart agriculture, precision agriculture. This review paper analyses the potential of ICT in agricultural sector. In particular, it explores the benefits of ICT in terms of agriculture smartness and sustainability, provides an overview on the main technologies used, delineates the contours of the smart farming market and landscape, and analyses the potential drawbacks of such a ‘digital revolution’ in agriculture. Smart agriculture is presented by some scholars and practitioners as the ‘Third Green Revolution’, after the plant breeding and genetics revolutions. It is widely recognised that ICTs can help reducing inefficiencies, increasing resource productivity, decreasing management costs, and improving traceability and transparency. However, some caution is needed to make the ongoing ‘digital revolution’ in agriculture inclusive for small-scale farmers and women, especially in developing countries. Moreover, some threats and challenges relating to digital and smart technologies need to be appropriately addressed through policies to support the development of the necessary market and legal architecture for ICT and smart farming, with due consideration to ethical questions

Challenges for a Sustainable Food Supply Chain: A Review on Food Losses and Waste

To address global food security, new strategies are required in view of the challenges represented by Climate Change, depletion of natural resources and the need to not further compromise the ecosystems’ quality and biodiversity. Food losses and waste (FLW) affect food security and nutrition, as well as the sustainability of food systems. Quantification of the adverse effects of FLW is a complex and multidimensional challenge requiring a wide-ranging approach, regarding the quantification of FLW as well as the related economic, environmental and social aspects. The evaluation of suitable corrective actions for managing FLW along the food supply chain requires a system of sound and shared benchmarks that seem still undefined. This review aims to provide an overview of the environmental, economic and social issues of FLW, which may support policy measures for prevention, reduction and valorization of food wastes within the food supply chain. In fact, detection of the hotspots and critical points allows to develop tailored policy measures that may improve the efficiency of the food supply chain and its sustainability, with an integrated approach involving all the main actors and considering the several production contexts

Challenges for a Sustainable Food Supply Chain: A Review on Food Losses and Waste

To address global food security, new strategies are required in view of the challenges represented by Climate Change, depletion of natural resources and the need to not further compromise the ecosystems’ quality and biodiversity. Food losses and waste (FLW) affect food security and nutrition, as well as the sustainability of food systems. Quantification of the adverse effects of FLW is a complex and multidimensional challenge requiring a wide-ranging approach, regarding the quantification of FLW as well as the related economic, environmental and social aspects. The evaluation of suitable corrective actions for managing FLW along the food supply chain requires a system of sound and shared benchmarks that seem still undefined. This review aims to provide an overview of the environmental, economic and social issues of FLW, which may support policy measures for prevention, reduction and valorization of food wastes within the food supply chain. In fact, detection of the hotspots and critical points allows to develop tailored policy measures that may improve the efficiency of the food supply chain and its sustainability, with an integrated approach involving all the main actors and considering the several production contexts

Challenges for a Sustainable Food Supply Chain: A Review on Food Losses and Waste

To address global food security, new strategies are required in view of the challenges represented by Climate Change, depletion of natural resources and the need to not further compromise the ecosystems’ quality and biodiversity. Food losses and waste (FLW) affect food security and nutrition, as well as the sustainability of food systems. Quantification of the adverse effects of FLW is a complex and multidimensional challenge requiring a wide-ranging approach, regarding the quantification of FLW as well as the related economic, environmental and social aspects. The evaluation of suitable corrective actions for managing FLW along the food supply chain requires a system of sound and shared benchmarks that seem still undefined. This review aims to provide an overview of the environmental, economic and social issues of FLW, which may support policy measures for prevention, reduction and valorization of food wastes within the food supply chain. In fact, detection of the hotspots and critical points allows to develop tailored policy measures that may improve the efficiency of the food supply chain and its sustainability, with an integrated approach involving all the main actors and considering the several production contexts