Links between Mountain Communities and Environmental Services in the Italian Alps

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the importance of mountain communities in increasing the value of environmental services. The assumption of the research is that, for historical and cultural reasons there is a greater sense of local identity and social capital in alpine communities and thus greater attention to the environment. In these communities individuals with a higher level of social capital will have a greater tendency to play a tangible role in the preservation of the environment. The study concerns the municipality of Premana in the Italian Alps. We evaluated forest and alpine pasture environmental services using the contingent valuation (CV) method. We interviewed 319 randomly selected residents (14 per cent of the population), asking them about their willingness to pay or donate work hours. Their annual mean willingness to pay was €94 and €896 in working hours, respectively. The CV results, together with other data collected through the questionnaire, demonstrate that local traditions and social capital play a key role in the multifunctional management of forests and alpine pastures. We suggest that studies such as this one on the benefits evaluation of the environmental services of mountain resources might be used for the formation and implementation of better informed policies that will affect the future of mountain communities.

Mapping the value of ecosystem services: A case study from the Austrian Alps

“…When applying the BT, it can be noticed that the total value of outdoor recreation in forests is, globally, about 84.5 thousand € (on average 33.8 €/ha year), while the total value of outdoor recreation in grasslands is about 109 thousand € (on average 54.1 €/ha year). The preferences of tourists for the open areas and the related higher willingness to pay is confi rmed from other studies (Notaro & Paletto 2011). Besides, we investigated the benefi ts provided by different forest type and altitude.…”

Community Participation, Natural Resource Management and the Creation of Innovative Tourism Products: Evidence from Italian Networks of Reserves in the Alps

“…The next research stage, currently in progress and nearing completion, involves an analysis (using Choice Experiments) of residents' and visitors' preferences, in term of benefits, with regard to the management model and actions of the NoRs. A better understanding of the benefits that stakeholders' may derive from natural resource management will usefully inform the setting of priorities at the local level [63].…”

Social perception of the forest landscape in Trentino-Alto Adige (Italy): comparison of case studies

“…Anche questa differenza può essere parzialmente spiegata sulla base delle differenze nei due siti: i prati-pascoli sono presenti in entrambe le aree, ma nel comprensorio circostante il lago di Santa Maria i visitatori devono attraversare sia aree a prato sia a bosco prima di giungere al lago, mentre in Val di Genova i prati-pascoli si trovano esclusivamente alle quote maggiori (località Bedole e dintorni) e non sono quindi frequentati da tutti i visitatori. Le preferenze espresse nei confronti del bosco rispetto ai prati-pascoli non sono in linea con quanto evidenziato da altre ricerche condotte nell'arco alpino, seppur in contesti differenti, che hanno messo in luce l'elevato valore turistico-ricreativo proprio delle aree aperte (Gios et al 2006, Notaro & Paletto 2011. Il test non-parametrico di Mann-Whitney ha evidenziato differenze statisticamente significative per le aree aperte (p<0.001) in riferimento al genere.…”

“…Nel corso dell'ultimo secolo le Alpi sono state inoltre interessate da processi di globalizzazione e urbanizzazione, portando a uno spopolamento delle vallate alpine, con un conseguente abbandono delle attività antropiche tradizionali (p. es., sfalcio dei prati per la produzione di foraggio, transumanza del bestiame, taglio dei boschi per la raccolta di legna da ardere a uso domestico) e una marginalizzazione dei sistemi silvo-pastorali di montagna (Lehmann et al 2007, Notaro & Paletto 2011. Questi cambiamenti nella struttura socio-economica hanno comportato profonde modifiche nei paesaggi delle Alpi, così come verificatosi anche in molte altre parti d'Italia (Agnoletti 2010).…”