Real Space For Ecosystem Services Assessment
In Italian Local Governance And Institutions?
An Expert-based Application And An Exploratory Survey
4th ESP Conference 2011
Ecosystem Services: integrating Science and Practice
WS 5 – Role of ecosystem services in policy making and institutional aspects
Rocco Scolozzi – Fondazione Edmund Mach
Current state - questions
The assessment of ecosystem services is the
focus of intense policy and management interest.
Ecosystem services are becoming increasingly
threatened
Resources that are not valued in the market and
are ignored in management decisions What about Italy?
“to make ecosystem services a useful framework
and applicable tool for environmental
management and policy making, the services first need to be quantified and visualized
appropriately”
DONE!
…Appropriately? Who will care about?
Is there space for integration? Which scale more helpful?
About land-use planning in Italy
20 Regions ≈15.000 km2
103 Provinces ≈ 3.000 km2
Regions Guidelines and principles
Provinces Indications
prescriptions (e.g. protected areas)
Municipalities Land-use definitions
Expert-based assessment
of ES value change
Assessment for 3 scales: -Province
-Municipality
Exploratory survey:
focus groups and interviews
Ferrara Ravenna Reggio Emilia Modena Ravenna Bologna Reggio Emilia At municipal,
provincial and regional level: •Departments of Urban Planning •Departments of Environment •Regional Environmental Agency
About
real
land-use planning
Regions Provinces Municipalities Principle of Subsidiarity Construction Industry Economic crises!About
real
place for ES
Regions
Provinces
Municipalities
• No knowledge/awareness
or some knowledge but not used
• Environmental values:
Merely as nature conservation areas
Or as landscape
cultural/aesthetic values ...but great interest!
To incorporate ES into policy-making and institutions requires:
1. flexible institutions (scales) 2. aware policy-makers
3. integrative policies
Checklist for Italian cases:
1. No 2. No 3. No
Suitable scale
At province scale:
To identify ES suitability and related guidelines
To manage local conflicts between economic forces and community resources/benefits
At catchment basin:
To identify “territorial compensations” (e.g. upstream, downstream areas)
To define measures/rules according to the scale of ecosystem processes
At municipal scale:
“not really useful level of detail”
Potentials
As criteria for sustainability assessment,
impact assessment (EIA, SEA)
As framework for integrative environmental
accounting of local institutions
As criteria for quantification Costs/Benefits
of land-use changes
As framework for ecological compensations
(especially in urban planning)
Quantitative Qualitative Quantitative Quantitative Quantitative Qualitative
For particular Italian cases (only?): as leverage for
reinforce position of public interests vs. private interests within local spatial planning
ESA may help to enlarge the perspective/vision ESA as paradigm to overcome short period thinking
Open questions
Reliability of assessment methodology?
“We need of a reliable methodology ... As for budget and accounting, with possibility to be certified”
Shared paradigm (perspective)?
“Concreteness” of intangible values Monetary vs. non monetary values
Monetary values but not market confrontation “We need of quantification of tangible values”
Old question:
Feasible estimation vs. impracticable exactness First: change the mental map, raise awareness
(a matter of social learning)
