1,721,003 research outputs found
Multifunctionality in fisheries and the provision of public goods
No full textMultifunctionality is characterized by two key elements: the existence of jointly produced multiple commodity and non-commodity outputs (NCOs), and that NCOs exhibit the characteristics of public goods externalities. The term “multifunctionality” is almost not used outside agriculture. However, several issues discussed in fishery literature and in international contexts clearly refer to public goods provision and joint production. The key point is to recognize if fisheries, similar to agriculture, provide other (public) benefits beyond their primary food supply function. The paper establishes a theoretical framework for the classification and valuation of multifunctionality in fisheries, and outlines policy options to increase (through multifunctionality) social welfare. NCOs include: ecosystem- and biodiversity-related NCOs, other environmental public goods/bads, cultural heritage and coastal viability, coastal employment externalities, food security, and strategic benefits. The main NCO characteristics to be analysed are the degree of jointness between commodity outputs and NCOs, and the distribution of property rights over fish stocks and NCOs. Policy options to increase social welfare include, among others, command and control schemes, market based instruments (e.g., payment for ecosystem services), and marine protected areas. Customary marine tenure institutions, or other modern fishery organizations, may represent a framework for the communitarian provision of NCOs. Fishery subsidies, which can because of overfishing, are justified if they allow increasing social benefits, given by the sum of catch and NCOs value. Particularly, incentives may be necessary to support small-scale fisheries or other less efficient technologies
Water governance under uncertainty: The case study of Users' Associations in Lebanon
Full text linkGovernance of water use for irrigation is a challenging topic, due to alteration in climatic patterns and the resulting resource scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions. Success stories can turn quickly into failures when significant disturbances occur. This contribution focuses on the institutional analysis to highlight factors which enable or constrain the role that Lebanese Water Users'Associations can play to tackle current and expected water shortage conditions. Furthermore, by integrating Ostrom's design principles and a dynamic game approach, the study examines the robustness of participative institutions and their operational rules when dealing with climate change generating uncertainty about availability of water resources at local level. Water governance can find a pivotal actor in local institutions (e.g. users' associations) not only if their organization is based on social cohesion, reciprocity, trust, information sharing and accountability concepts, but also and preliminarily, if higher-level external conditions like public recognition and control, inclusion in collective decisionmaking processes, and operative subsidiarity are met.La gouvernance de l’utilisation de l’eau d’irrigation représente un défi majeur alors que le changement climatique et la pénurie des ressources provoquée par ce dérèglement affectent les régions arides et semi-arides. Les bons exemples peuvent soudainement se transformer en des échecs quand des perturbations interviennent. Dans ce travail, nous proposons donc une analyse institutionnelle pour mettre en évidence les facteurs qui stimulent ou bien limitent le rôle que les Associations des usagers de l’eau peuvent jouer au Liban dans les conditions actuelles et futures de pénurie d’eau. En plus, en intégrant les principes d’Ostrom et l’approche des jeux dynamiques, nous allons évaluer la robustesse des institutions participatives et leurs règles opérationnelles face aux aléas climatiques qui génèrent une incertitude dans la disponibilité des ressources en eau à l’échelle locale. Les institutions locales (par exemple, les associations des usagers de l’eau) peuvent devenir un acteur incontournable pour la gouvernance de l’eau non seulement si elles réussissent à promouvoir dans leur organisation les principes de cohésion sociale, réciprocité, confiance, partage de l’information et responsabilité, mais aussi et avant tout, si d’autres importantes conditions externes interviennent telles la reconnaissance et le contrôle par les institutions publiques, l’inclusion dans des processus collectifs de prise de décision et de subsidiarité opérativ
Blue growth and ecosystem services
No full textThe recent years have witnessed a rise in interest in the ocean economy. To cover a more sustainable dimension, terms such as 'blue economy' and 'blue growth' have been coined, and are increasingly used in international contexts and academic literature. However, there are no generally accepted definitions of these 'blue' concepts. In particular, it is not clear what connotation of sustainability and what role of natural environment is linked to these terms. The objective of this study is to retrace the meaning of the concepts of blue economy and blue growth and include them in a coherent environmental accounting framework. Starting from the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting of the United Nations, a set of assumptions is proposed to link blue economy/growth and ecosystem services, including the creation of an adjusted measure of value added, while considering the depletion and degradation of the environment and the value of non-market benefits provided by the ecosystem. Finally, an example of this approach in the case of the Mediterranean Sea is presented
Small-scale fisheries in the Emilia-Romagna region: structural, social and market issues
No full textSmall-scale fisheries play an important role in the regional fishing industry of Emilia-Romagna, an Adriatic region located in the north-east of Italy. However, when comparing
regional data with national averages, some peculiarities do emerge. To gain a deeper
understanding of the situation of small-scale fisheries in the region, a survey has been
performed through by interviewing a sample of fishers. This study is also focused on
the added value issue. In fact, local fish products have low prices on the market; for this
very reason, the regional public authority has been interested in creating a collective
brand involving all stakeholders in the supply chain. The perspectives from the fishers
and other parties regarding the potential offered by such a brand are discussed in this
paper
Blue Growth and the relationship between ecosystem services and human activities: The Salento artisanal fisheries case study
No full textThis paper proposes a tool for the management of marine and coastal areas based on the ecosystem
service framework and the Bayesian network approach. The participative methodology used makes this
tool very suitable for addressing issues related to community-led coastal development and Blue Growth.
The Salento (Italy) artisanal fisheries case study is used to test the usefulness of our approach. Salento is
characterized by declining fisheries and increasing tourism development. Causeeeffect relationships
between human activities and ecosystem services are modeled to show the differences in stakeholder
behavior under different scenarios. Results indicate that increasing tourist flow and related infrastructure
are not perceived as threats to the local ecosystem equilibrium, but the problem of water quality should
be carefully considered to prevent future negative feedback. The model can be used as a methodological
guide by local public authorities as well as economic and civil society groups. It may be particularly
useful for the Fisheries Local Action Groups, which have been explicitly created to design and implement
bottom-up strategies that fit their regions’ needs to increase economic, social, and environmental
welfare
Connecting catch profiles with efficiency: An application to the beam trawl fishery in the Northern Adriatic Sea
No full textEstimation of technical efficiency in fisheries is most commonly finalized at comparing the conversion from
inputs (e.g. time at sea, fuel consumption) to production (i.e. landed fish) among vessels or gears. In this paper
we adopt a novel approach focusing on the efficiency of fishing trips characterized by different catch composition
within the same fleet. In particular, the case study under analysis is represented by the beam trawl (“rapido”)
fishery of Chioggia (Adriatic Sea, GSA 17), which has been subject to increasing technical and effort limitations
in recent years due to its severe impacts on the marine ecosystem. The methodological strategy first involves a
cluster analysis of catch profiles to identify homogeneous groups of fishing trips, which are subsequently
compared in terms of economic performance based on the efficiency scores from stochastic frontier analysis. By
including also an estimation of Greenhouse Gas emissions per trip, the results from our study can be used to
inform future management interventions that aim at improving the overall efficiency of the fishery while
reducing its carbon footprint and the pressure on the most relevant target species
Balancing environmental concerns and efficiency in Mediterranean fisheries: Economics of production with a look at market trends
Full text linkThe fishing sector in the Adriatic Sea is exposed to stricter regulations due to the negative ecological impact of large-scale fisheries, while increasing socio-economic challenges threaten the profitability of the industry. We apply Stochastic frontier and Price formation analysis to the rapido fishery of Chioggia (Italy) in order to investigate potential strategies to enhance the economic performance of the fishery, considering both effort restrictions and market trends. The use of two different methodological approaches emphasizes the need for a comprehensive and flexible approach to fisheries management, taking into account seasonal fluctuations in efficiency and average prices. The results reveal that efficiency variations are significantly influenced by seasonal factors and stock availability, thus indicating a limited capacity of fishers to adapt to changing market conditions. We emphasize the importance of flexible scheduling of fishing days and discuss the opportunity for implementing mixed management systems incorporating a Total Allowable Catch or quotas
Individual transferable effort quotas for Italian fisheries? A preliminary analysis
Full text linkIn the context of transferable fishing concessions, the most well-known tool is probably the individual transferable quota, whereas the case of individual transferable effort quotas (ITEs) is much less often discussed. This study is the result of a project realized in collaboration with Italian fishery associations with the objective of evaluating, in a participatory framework, the possible consequences of the introduction of ITEs. A semi-quantitative survey was carried out over a sample of key stakeholders being experts of bottom trawling fisheries in the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas and the pelagic trawling fishery in the Adriatic Sea. The results and elaborations of the surveys were discussed and validated by a focus group composed of delegates of fishery associations. Two aspects were investigated: the relationships between fishing capacity (i.e. engine power and gross tonnage), fishing activity (i.e. fishing days and fishing hours), revenues, and variable costs (e.g. fuel) and the suitability of different proposals and alternative approaches for the introduction of ITEs. The participation of stakeholders allowed the building of some simple pedagogical tools based on realistic figures collected through the surveys that could be used by managers of associations, cooperatives, and producer organizations to better understand the functioning and possible consequences of ITEs schemes
Acceptance of insect meal in aquaculture feeding: A stakeholder analysis for the Italian supply chains of trout and seabass
Full text linkInsect meal could represent an option for partial replacement of fishmeal, the quantity and price of which are a constraint to the expansion of aquaculture. In this article, the acceptance of insect meal as a feed component among Italian farmers of trout and seabass is investigated and discussed. Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with farmers, feed producers, and insect-meal producers. Then, a deductive thematic analysis has been carried out to understand which of the different variables characterizing farming structures and marketing channels can affect the choice of feed products and, as a consequence, the acceptance of insect meals. The information collected suggests to differentiate two levels of insights: the first concerns plain economic evaluation in what could be considered a standardized or theoretical environment, and is mainly related to the feed price and the feed conversion ratio. The second level takes into consideration the effects that occur in real environments and that are different depending on farm characteristics and business choices. Among the main aspects that should be considered (beyond prices and feed conversion ratio) are the final destination of the product, the processing and large retailers' requirements, the effects on digestion and feces production, and the variability of performance (as an effect of feed nutritional variability and environmental variability)
Adaptive capacity to climate change in the wine industry: A Bayesian Network approach
Full text linkThis study assesses the main factors influencing the behavior of wine producers and the strategies implemented by them with regard to changing climatic conditions. To do so, we adopted a Bayesian Network combining climatic, technical, and economic factors, as well as farmer perception and environmental actions. Based on the scientific literature reviewed, a set of research hypotheses was formulated and compared with empirical evidence collected in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Climatic data, both at the regional and vineyard levels were collected and primary information on wine growing and wine making firms was gathered by means of a producer survey, including 56 wine farms. The results showed that the probability to be negatively affected by the effects of climate change is influenced by structural and technical farm characteristics and by farmer readiness to embrace change. Local climatic conditions, particularly temperature and water surplus, are the factors that most affect both wine production and adaptation behavior in the study area. We conclude that the adoption of focused management and appropriate adaptation strategies, as well as appropriate policies with regard to regulation, incentives and support, are crucial issues for farmers to face the ongoing climatic challenge
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