Evaluation of socio-economic impact of drought events: the case of Po river basin

Abstract

Abstract:The paper focuses on the socioeconomic impacts of drought events. Its objective is in particular to explore and study the distributive effects of drought events in the agricultural sector, taking the Po river basin, the most important agricultural area in Italy, as case study area. Its theoretical and methodological approach makes basis on the consumer surplus theory. One of the most remarkable outcomes of this analysis is that the effects of the drought events change considerably according to the social group. As far as agriculture is concerned, it shows that farmers and consumers are affected differently. Farmers can even earn from drought, because of the "price effect" caused by the scarcity of agricultural products; consumers always loses, because of the "quantity effect" and the "price effect". Very different impacts, in terms of sign and magnitude, were also observed among the farmers themselves, in particular when they are distinguished by crop category, and by geographical area.Keywords: drought event; socioeconomic impacts; distributive effects; Po river basin Sommario: Il paper si focalizza sugli impatti socioeconomici degli eventi siccitosi. Obiettivo del paper è in particolare quello di analizzare gli effetti distributivi degli eventi siccitosi nell'agricoltura, studiando il caso del bacino del Po, l'area agricola più grande ed estesa in Italia. L'approccio teorico e metodologico utilizzato si basa sulla teoria del surplus del consumatore. I risultati più rilevanti delle analisi svolte mostrano che gli effetti delle siccità sono socialmente differenziati. Nel settore agricolo si osserva infatti come l'impatto economico sugli agricoltori è diverso da quello che si registra sui consumatori. Gli agricoltori possono perfino guadagnare dalle siccità, a causa del cosiddetto "effetto prezzo", causato dalla scarsità di beni agricoli in periodi siccitosi; mentre i consumatori perdono sempre, a causa del sommarsi dell' "effetto prezzo" e dell' "effetto quantità". Impatti di segno e magnitudine diversa sono stati anche stimati tra gli stessi agricoltori, quando distinti per tipologia di coltivazione e per subarea geografica.Parole chiave: eventi siccitosi; impatti socioeconomici; effetti distributivi; bacino del Po

A Probabilistic Risk Assessment of the National Economic Impacts of Regulatory Drought Management on Irrigated Agriculture

“…Earth's Future In England and Wales the future highest risks of total economic losses are projected to be in highly irrigated catchments with high-value crops, mostly located in the drier south and east of England within the Anglian, Severn, Thames, and Humber RBDs, which will also be increasingly exposed to more frequent, longer duration, and more severe restrictions. This importance of geographical differentiation in water availability and/or cropping in influencing the economic impacts of droughts has been found elsewhere, such as in Mediterranean river basins (Musolino et al, 2017). We have assumed that there is no feedback between reduced yields and increased prices due to the common usage of fixed-price forward contracts and the diverse supply chains of food retailers in the United Kingdom, but such price feedbacks during drought can lead to reductions in economic losses or even winning situations in other regions, such as in Southern Europe (Musolino et al, 2018).…”

Assessment of Green Infrastructure in Riparian Zones Using Copernicus Programme

“…The hydrological network is therefore characterised by a mixed discharge regime: part Alpine with spring and summer floods and winter droughts and part Apennine with spring and autumn floods and summer droughts [68,69]. The highest streamflow peaks can be observed both in spring and autumn due to precipitation and snow melting, while the Maritime and Liguria Alpine areas are characterised by lower specific discharge and higher evapotranspiration that limits river flow [70,71].…”

“…Despite high urbanization, agriculture plays a dominant role in the basin [40,72]. Water uses concern industrial activities, agricultural productions, livestock and inland navigation and, consequently, water extreme events can provoke serious economic damages [41,68].…”

“…Floods and droughts affect the river basin more intensely in its delta area due to higher pressure on water resources [68,72] (Figure 1). Also, Po delta is the largest wetland in Italy and over a third of its surface is protected under the Birds Directive [26] (Figure 1).…”

The concept of social risk: A geographical approach

“…In this context, the International Social Sciences Council (ISSC) promotes the efficient involvement of the social sciences in approaching environmental problems and sustainable development, by identifying efficient solutions to the arising challenge (ISSC Report, 2016), strictly connected to sustainable development goals (SDGs, 2015). In order to understand the socio-economic factors that limit the adaptation of local communities to natural disasters, one has to make detailed social and economic analyses based on using and matching some representative indicators (Dumitrașcu et al 2017;Gonzáles et al 2017;Musolino et al 2017;Callander, Deborah 2018).…”