Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Communities: An Integrated Approach to Assess Sustainability in Rural Areas

Sustainable development is a priority in EU rural development strategies. Due to the multidimensionality of the sustainability issue, this paper presents a Spatial Decision Support System to assess territorial sustainability and help decision- makers in rural planning process. Four globally valid sustainability dimensions were considered (long-term ecological sustainability, satisfaction of basic human needs, promotion of intragenerational and intergenerational equity), measured by a set of socio-cultural-political-environmental indicators by using the Mazziotta and Pareto method. The results of the S-DSS, implemented and verified in Basilicata region (southern Italy), provide the maps of sustainability values for each dimension at municipalities level, showing the usefulness of the tool to identify and monitor rural areas that require priority interventions and resources, in order to foster sustainable rural development

Mapping the recreational value of coppices’ management systems in Tuscany

In recent decades the growing interest in forested areas has led to a higher level of appreciation and consideration regarding the various benefits and services provided by forests. Despite this, when it comes to acknowledging their economic value and their capacity to produce income, the production of timber seems to be the main or even the only function that is considered. However, by adopting a sustainable forest management approach, the value related to non-market forest functions could also be considered. The present paper aims to quantify the potential income related to the recreational value of coppice forest by considering three different management systems: traditional coppice, active conversion to high forest and the natural evolution of forest. In order to do so, a contingent valuation method was used, and 248 forest users were surveyed in the region of Tuscany, Italy. The surveys included a revised price-list method, and the results obtained showed the existence of willingness to pay (WTP) for the maintenance of forests. Users showed a strong preference for conversion to high forest, while natural evolution was the least preferred management option. People’s perception on this matter was also assessed based on their specific location, by georeferencing all of the respondents’ answers: considering this, it was observed that belonging to a municipality located in or close to the mountains (i.e., mountain and natural municipalities) influenced the users’ WTP to maintain natural evolution

Thinning in black pine (Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold) forests: The economic sustainability of the wood-energy supply chain in a case study in Italy

In Italy, black pine has been largely used in reforestation projects in the past. Most of these reforestations are characterized by a high instability, vulnerability, and a limited resistance to atmospheric agents. In this situation, it is crucial to define silvicultural interventions able to increase the ecological stability of black pine stands and at the same time to guarantee the economic sustainability of the wood products obtained. Thinning in black pine forests can provide wood material for energy use. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the economic sustainability of a local wood-energy supply chain applying three different forest management options. The case study was Monte Morello forest, a degraded black pine forest located in Central Italy. The results show that the long-term economic sustainability of the wood-energy supply chain is ensured only when the use of bio-fuel is characterized by high energy efficiency. In addition, the results show that public contributions are fundamental to ensure that silvicultural interventions are realized with a positive economic balance and that to surmount this situation many loggings companies are organizing. Finally, the results highlighted the importance of the quantities of thermal energy sold to ensure the economic and environmental efficiency of the wood-energy supply chain

Territori ad alta energia : Governo del territorio e pianificazione energetica sostenibile: metodi ed esperienze

In recent years the subject of energy planning has come to occupy a role of growing importance, both in relation to the escalating costs, scarcity and impact of energy procurement and consumption and in relation to the increasingly broad future prospects generated by the development of technologies for the exploitation of renewable sources. Within this framework, the development and use of the latter frequently appears to be without benchmarks for integration into the broader picture of territorial planning, and hence of coordination with other human activities and territorial resources. With this in mind, this book aims to compose the elements of a perspective in which energy planning is seen not as an ulterior and separate form of planning, but as an activity integrated within the more general instruments for the government of the territory, and more specifically one that employs the resources of the territory in a sustainable manner also with a view to endogenous local development.Il tema della pianificazione energetica \ue8 tornato ad assumere negli ultimi anni una crescente importanza sia in relazione ai crescenti costi, scarsit\ue0 ed impatti che l\u27approvvigionamento e consumo energetico comporta sia in relazione alle prospettive, sempre pi\uf9 ampie, determinate dallo sviluppo delle tecnologie per lo sfruttamento di fonti rinnovabili. In questo quadro lo sviluppo ed impiego di queste ultime tecnologie appare spesso privo di riferimenti ed integrazione con il pi\uf9 ampio quadro della pianificazione del territorio e, dunque, di coordinamento con le altre attivit\ue0 antropiche e risorse territoriali. In questo quadro il libro cerca di comporre gli elementi di una prospettiva in cui la pianificazione energetica non si configuri come una ulteriore "pianificazione separata" ma come una attivit\ue0 integrata con i pi\uf9 generali strumenti di governo del territorio e, in particolare, in grado di impiegare in maniera sostenibile le risorse del territorio anche in una prospettiva di sviluppo locale endogeno