The future protection from the climate change-related hazards and the willingness to pay for home insurance in the coastal wetlands of West Sardinia, Italy

Abstract

Wetlands are severely endangered ecosystems worldwide. They provide important services, like water supply, recreation opportunities, flood and climate regulation. Still, they are also considered as disruptive areas, a source of mosquitoes and diseases, which is why they are frequently destroyed by changes in land use. Their degradation is likely to advance from this time forth due to climate change processes. It is, therefore, important to examine how the local population understands the importance of wetlands in coping with different coastal risks in West Sardinia. Our study is focused on West Sardinia (municipalities Cabras, Oristano and Arborea), counting for remarkable biodiversity of wetlands. This area is characterized by high environmental and agricultural pressures which intensify the vulnerability of the coastal areas. To test for local population's preparedness to change, data collection was performed through field methods and questionnaires. The study was undertaken by asking key questions on the role of wetlands and willingness to pay to protect from future events (contingent valuation exercise). The results indicate that the locals do not seem to be aware of the regulating services provided by wetlands, but are willing to invest in order to mitigate climate change-related hazards. The obtained results could serve in future governance frameworks for the mitigation of natural hazards in the Mediterranean region and wider.

The importance of raising risk awareness: lessons learned about risk awareness sessions from the Mediterranean region (North Morocco and West Sardinia, Italy)

“…3) play a vital role in disaster risk reduction, but they also create a conflict between urban, fishing and farming activities, with the town of Cabras famous for fishing, and the fertile area of Arborea, home to an extensive agricultural production. In addition, Sardinians have a long tradition of autonomous governance and environmental awareness, which even included wildfire regulations in the 14 th century (Ivčević et al, 2020b).…”

“…All those items were measured using a 5-point Likert scale, and then dichotomized: participants with responses above mean were considered to have a high value, those under mean to have low value, and are as such used in a binary logistic model. For more details on variables chosen refer to publications by Ivčević et al (2020aIvčević et al ( , 2020b.…”

Telluric and Climate-Related Risk Awareness, and Risk Mitigation Strategies in the Azores Archipelago: First Steps for Building Societal Resilience

“…(c) self-assessment of how well informed they felt about each of the natural phenomena on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all informed) to 5 (completely informed) [11,26];…”

“…(b) indirectly monetary: personal solutions they were ready to adopt in the face of extreme natural phenomena, on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (nothing) to 5 (completely) [11,13];…”

“…This scientific knowledge and its local appropriation for risk Mitigation strategies are determined by risk perception and the evaluation of the possibility of handling this threat or coping with it [8,9]. Risk perception relates to subjective judgements of risks by individuals in the general population, and it could be described as a 'conceptual understanding' of threat; differently, risk awareness could relate to information and knowledge [10][11][12][13]. The concept of risk perception makes the process of risk appropriation multifaceted, since it proposes different logics in perceiving risks for laypeople and experts [14].…”