GIS-based approach for assessing the energy potential and the financial feasibility of run-off-river hydro-power in Alpine valleys

In the last decade, European attractive policies are favoring the construction of new run-off hydro-power plants. The realization cost of these plants is quite low in mountain areas thanks to small water discharges and high gross heads. For this reason, small rivers have been strongly exploited without considering an optimal use of the resource. Nowadays, available sites are often in areas with low accessibility and a greater specific cost of civil engineering works. However, during the planning of new small hydro-power plants, the dependency of physical, technical, legal and financial variable on space is often not assessed. The tool presented in this paper addresses this gap to support the planning of run-off-river plants. The method improves on previous approaches by (1) integrating all the legal, technical and financial analysis in a GIS tool, and (2) trying to validate the site-specific model with local knowledge. The tool is applied to the Gesso and Vermenagna valleys in the Alps. Information and data were collected and discussed with local stakeholders in order to improve the model results

Sustainability and Food: a Text Analysis of the Scientific Literature

The paper analyses the evolution of the research debate related to sustainability and to the relation between food and sustainability. A number of text analysis techniques were combined for the investigation of scientific papers. The results stress how discourse analysis of sustainability in the pre-Rio period is mostly associated with agriculture and with a vision where the ecological and environmental aspects are dominant. In the post-Rio phase, the discussion about sustainability, though still strongly linked to environmental issues, enters a holistic dimension that includes social elements. The themes of energy and the sustainability of urban areas become central, and the scientific debate stresses the importance of indicators within an assessment approach linked to the relevance of planning and intervention aspects. The focus on the role of food within the debate on sustainability highlights a food security oriented approach in the pre-Rio phase, with a particular attention towards agriculture and third world Countries. In the post-Rio period, the focus of the analysis moves towards developed Countries. Even though food security remains a strongly significant element of the debate, the attention shifts towards consumers and food choices

Uncertainty assessment in climate change scenarios: a methodological proposal for management of forest ecosystem services

The work introduces a method to quantify potential impact of climate change on cultural ecosystem services in forests. The technique of Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Term Set is applied to face with the uncertainty due to climate change as well as subjective opinion of forest experts. Two forest management scenario (current practices as well as climate change-oriented silviculture) are investigated for different time horizons. Results highlight the increasing uncertainty on climate change impact evaluation related to longer time horizons. Potential losses connected to current cultural ecosystem services provision are quantified from spatial as well as economic viewpoint. The method is tested for an illustrative example in the Tuscany region - central Italy

Gestione forestale sostenibile e servizi ecosistemici: un esempio di valutazione economico-finanziaria per i boschi toscani

The monetary evaluation of ecosystem services is a topic of great interest for environmental planning and forestry. However, economic measurements of forest externalities and the implementation of decision support tools able to guide decision-makers in forest assessment, are difficult tasks. In this framework, the aims of the work were: i) to define economic and financial indicators, related to appraisal of different silvicultural intervention in Tuscany forest and ii) to design a flexible economic decision support model for the guidance of stakeholders in forest management. From methodological viewpoint a short period financial analysis was developed. This analysis permits to compute stumpage value of forest harvesting. The innovative component of the work is the ability to integrate the analysis with an assessment of economic aspect of the process. As matter of fact, multifunctionality parameters and, consequently, total economic value of forest was introduced. Main results emphasize the flexibility of the implemented model and the potential application in different areas

Mitigation of socio-economic damage due to climate change: a fuzzy cognitive map optimisation for the tuscan viticulture sector

Climate change is considered one of the main potential causes for socio-economic damages in viticulture in the future. The analysis of such systems has to be carried out adopting a methodology able to link different spatial and temporal variables, as well as evaluating the uncertainty related to climatic scenario. Thus, the Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM) approach was adopted to analyse potential viticulture trends under climate alteration in the Tuscany region (Italy). Best allocation of policy resources and incentives for mitigation of socio-economic impacts were tested through the application of nonlinear programming (NLP). Best policy scenario were depicted applying a multicriteria approach. Results highlighted the importance of regulation measures and the maintenance of quality brand.Climate change is considered one of the main potential causes for socio-economic damages in viticulture in the future. The analysis of such systems has to be carried out adopting a methodology able to link different spatial and temporal variables, as well as evaluating the uncertainty related to climatic scenario. Thus, the Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM) approach was adopted to analyse potential viticulture trends under climate alteration in the Tuscany region (Italy). Best allocation of policy resources and incentives for mitigation of socio-economic impacts were tested through the application of nonlinear programming (NLP). Best policy scenario were depicted applying a multicriteria approach. Results highlighted the importance of regulation measures and the maintenance of quality brand