8,131 research outputs found
Tacking Stock: Conclusions and Recommendations
No full textThis chapter summarises the main points brought out by the previous contributions to draw key lessons learnt and policy recommendations. These are: (i) the need for multidisciplinary approaches and the mobilisation of a variety of knowledge and expertise, and the consequent need of adequate tools and techniques; (ii) the importance of considering the perceptive component of landscape, in order to capture its distinguishing features with respect to other concepts; (iii) the consequent importance of combining expert opinions and technical tools with methods able to survey people’s preferences and opinion, hence the importance of public and stakeholder engagement; (iv) the recognition of the presence of trade offs between different ecosystem/landscape services as well as between rural development objectives and the consequent implications for policy making; (v) the need of a change of paradigm in current approach to landscape and rural development policy design and implementation from a sectoral to a territorial governance approach
Introduction: Rural Development and Landscape Planning—Key Concepts and Issues at Stake
No full textLandscape preservation and development of rural areas are two fundamental European Union's policy objectives towards sustainable development, as defined, respectively, by the European Landscape Convention and the Rural Development Policy, the second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Agriculture has been shaping the landscape for millennia in Europe and with more than 47 % of EU territory devoted to it, the predominant form of landscape is indeed the rural one. Whilst the deep interlinks between rural development and landscape policies/planning are evident, these two domains have developed, both as research fields and policy sectors, largely independently. Traditionally, rural development policies have featured a sectoral approach, conceiving agriculture as an economic activity, without properly considering its territorial dimension; similarly, landscape and territorial planning have not paid adequate attention to the specific needs of agriculture and farmers in designing preservation measures. The challenges Europe faces in the 21st century towards the objective of sustainable development urge for a deeper integration of these two domains. This is particularly true after the adoption, in December 2013, of the CAP reform package comprising the new regulations on the Rural Development Policy for the programming period 2014-2020. This introductive chapter provides an overview of the key concepts and issues addressed in the text: the role of agriculture in shaping the landscape; the ecosystem service conceptual framework; the concept of landscape itself and rurality; the meaning of rural development and multifunctionality in agriculture and rural areas. Subsequently, a synopsis of the following chapters is presente
Pursuing Integration Between Rural Development Policies and Landscape Planning: Towards a Territorial Governance Approach
No full textLandscape planning and Rural Development Programmes (RDP) share common objectives of preservation and improvement of the rural landscape, so a deeper integration between these two domains would deliver significant benefits towards sustainable development. However, until now they have developed largely independently as both research fields and policy sectors. This chapter addresses the main theoretical issues concerning the advocated potential integration by first identifying and discussing two different rationales underlying landscape and rural development policies, namely a territorial and a sectoral one. Subsequently, a case study regarding the Territorial Plan of the Province of Turin, Italy, is presented to illustrate how landscape/spatial planning and RDP's policies and objectives can converge and the different regulations and capacities of these instruments used to deliver mutual benefits. In particular, it is shown how the design and implementation of Agri-environmental schemes within RDP could be made more effective and spatially targeted by taking into account the spatial analysis and landscape areas designation elaborated by the Territorial Plan. It is argued that to foster synergies, a shift towards a territorial governance approach in RDP design and implementation is needed, which entails a deeper horizontal and vertical coordination between government levels and sectors, as well as the involvement of stakeholder from the civil society in the design and realization of territorialized projects. The discussion is framed in the ongoing debate on the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy in the period 2014-202
Landscape Planning and Rural Development - Key Issues and Options Towards Integration
No full textThis book aims to contribute to the current debate on how to integrate rural development policies and landscape planning in rural areas. It highlights the key issues at stake and the possibilities for synergies between landscape planning and policies in light of European development policies, particularly the EU’s Rural Development Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Case studies from different rural contexts and landscapes are provided, illustrating tools and options to make the advocated integration operational. Recommendations and guidance to policy making are proposed. The case studies presented cover 1) the use of visual assessment techniques to support landscape planning in rural areas; 2) participative applications of landscape assessment techniques in peri-urban areas; 3) multi-scale approaches to landscape management in Alpine areas; and 4) the application of landscape economic evaluation to foster rural development strategies
LA VALUTAZIONE AMBIENTALE STRATEGICA: PROPOSTE METODOLOGICHE DI RICERCA E RIFLESSIONI SUL QUADRO NORMATIVO NAZIONALE
No full text
Challenging dominant environmental political discourse through direct democracy initiatives. The case of Italy's referendums on public water and nuclear energy
No full textThis paper reflects on the relationship between direct democracy and the environment by illustrating the case of 3 referendums called in Italy in 2011 that rejected government's proposed policies on production of nuclear power and privatization of local water supply systems. Drawing from this case, the paper discusses the role of grass-roots movements in promoting direct democracy initiatives with a focus on the "Italian Forum for Public Water". The argument put forward is that the referendums' results are only partially explained by the contingent political Italian context but shall be rather framed in the critical discourse to the dominant neoliberal socio-economic model. The conclusion is that in this fluid context, direct democracy tools can play a significant role in producing key changes in policies both at national and local leve
Ecological compensation in spatial planning in Italy
No full textEcological compensation or biodiversity offsets are increasingly recognized as a key element for environmental sustainability; however, more attention has been paid so far to compensation applied at the project level rather than to spatial planning. Meanwhile, there is a growing acknowledgement that extensive environmental depletion is being caused by the cumulative effects of small developments allowed by spatial/land use plans. This paper aims to collect empirical evidence on the requirements for ecological compensation at a strategic level of decision-making - spatial planning - in Italy. Results indicate that spatial plans are increasingly introducing offset requirements for residual impacts of new urban developments; however, methodological and operational aspects are not sufficiently addressed and enforcement mechanisms appear weak. The lack of legal frameworks and of established methods appears to be the main element currently hindering biodiversity offset implementation at the planning level. It is suggested that, in the Italian context, a way to foster better implementation is the design of environmental stewardship schemes involving farmers, developers and planning authorities
Autorità competente e assetti istituzionali di VAS di piani territoriali in alcuni stati europei. Un confronto con la situazione italiana
No full text- …
