Papers by Davide Pettenella
Sustainability, 2017
For forest sustainability and vulnerability assessment, the landscape scale is considered to be m... more For forest sustainability and vulnerability assessment, the landscape scale is considered to be more and more relevant as the stand level approaches its known limitations. This review, which describes the main forest landscape simulation tools used in the 20 European case studies of the European project "Future-oriented integrated management of European forest landscapes" (INTEGRAL), gives an update on existing decision support tools to run landscape simulation from Mediterranean to boreal ecosystems. The main growth models and software available in Europe are described, and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches are discussed. Trades-offs between input efforts and output are illustrated. Recommendations for the selection of a forest landscape simulator are given. The paper concludes by describing the need to have tools that are able to cope with climate change and the need to build more robust indicators for assessment of forest landscape sustainability and vulnerability.
Forests
In the Italian political and economic agenda the forest sector occupies a marginal role. The fore... more In the Italian political and economic agenda the forest sector occupies a marginal role. The forest sector in Italy is characterized by a high institutional fragmentation and centralized decision-making processes dominated by Public Forest Administrations. Public participation in forest policy processes has been implemented since the 1990s at national, regional and local levels in several cases. However, today no significant changes have been observed in the overall governance of the forest sector and stakeholders’ involvement in Italian forest policy decision-making is still rather limited. The aims of this paper are to describe the state of forest-related participatory processes in Italy at various levels (national, regional and local) and identify which factors and actors hinder or support the establishment and implementation of participatory forest-related processes in the country. The forest-related participatory processes are analyzed adopting a qualitative-based approach and ...
Ambio
This article provides useful information for universities offering forestry programs and facing t... more This article provides useful information for universities offering forestry programs and facing the growing demand for bioeconomy education. An explorative survey on bioeconomy perception among 1400 students enrolled in 29 universities across nine European countries offering forestry programs was performed. The data have been elaborated via descriptive statistics and cluster analysis. Around 70% of respondents have heard about the bioeconomy, mainly through university courses. Students perceive forestry as the most important sector for bioeconomy; however, the extent of perceived importance of forestry varies between countries, most significantly across groups of countries along a North–South European axis. Although differences across bachelor and master programs are less pronounced, they shed light on how bioeconomy is addressed by university programs and the level of student satisfaction with this. These differences and particularities are relevant for potential development routes...
Introduzione: due visioni di bio-economia L'economia europea del legno sta lentamente uscendo dal... more Introduzione: due visioni di bio-economia L'economia europea del legno sta lentamente uscendo dalla crisi completamente trasformata: il segmento di maggior impiego di fibre legnose, quello delle paste-carta, si è radicalmente ridimensionato, le imprese che producono segati hanno espanso la loro capacità di esportazione nei paesi extraeuropei riducendo i loro costi e diventando più competitive, il segmento delle biomasse a uso energetico è talmente cresciuto che i paesi europei, anche quelli nordici, stanno importano crescenti quantità di cippato e pellet.
In Italy, about 45,000 ha of forest areas are burned each year. The ignitions are mainly human-ca... more In Italy, about 45,000 ha of forest areas are burned each year. The ignitions are mainly human-caused (over 90 percent) and about 50 percent are arsons. The recent Italian National Law n. 353/2000 therefore prescribes that costs of human-caused fires must be refunded by the person responsible (when discovered). Two main components of the costs are identified: those paid for the active fire-fighting operations and the costs due to forest ecosystem disturbance. This study proposes a methodological framework for estimating the total costs of forest fires and applies the method to a specific area (Veneto region) of the north-eastern Italy. The costs of active fire-fighting were calculated taking into account all Regional forest fire-fighting organizations. Data on volunteers and regional operators, forest fire statistics, equipment and machinery types and use were studied and unit costs (€ h -1 ) calculated at both provincial and regional level. Environmental costs are estimated accounting for different forest benefits: -wood production; -climate change mitigation (CO 2 stocks); -nature and biodiversity conservation; -hydrogeological protection; -tourism activity. Environmental cost complies with the Veneto region forest situation. It is computed by local prices and considering the 2003 Forest Inventory. This method is designed to require very few input data to be measured in the burnt area namely the percentage of dead trees, stand age, distance from the main road and the length of it that could be damaged by falling rocks. A GIS-ACCESS application allows cost computation to be automated and to integrate all the results. These results will be used in legal proceedings when the person responsible for a fire is caught.
New instruments of monitoring and evaluation in development cooperation are presented, with speci... more New instruments of monitoring and evaluation in development cooperation are presented, with specific reference to the new challenges defined by the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005).
Forests, 2015
While sustainable forestry in Europe is characterized by the provision of a multitude of forest e... more While sustainable forestry in Europe is characterized by the provision of a multitude of forest ecosystem services, there exists no comprehensive study that scrutinizes their sensitivity to forest management on a pan-European scale, so far. We compile scenario runs from regionally tailored forest growth models and Decision Support Systems (DSS) from 20 case studies throughout Europe and analyze whether the ecosystem service provision depends on management intensity and other co-variables, comprising regional affiliation, social environment, and tree species composition. The simulation runs provide information about the case-specifically most important ecosystem services in terms of appropriate indicators. We found a strong positive correlation between management intensity and wood production, but only weak correlation with protective and socioeconomic forest functions. Interestingly, depending on the forest region, we found that biodiversity can react in both ways, positively and negatively, to increased management intensity. Thus, it may be in tradeoff or in synergy with wood production and forest resource maintenance. The covariables species composition and social environment are of punctual interest only, while the affiliation to a certain region often makes an important difference in terms of an ecosystem service's treatment sensitivity. Forests 2015, 6 1668
... Teder 16 Policy and Market-related Factors for Innovation in Forest 276 Operation Enterprises... more ... Teder 16 Policy and Market-related Factors for Innovation in Forest 276 Operation Enterprises Laura Bouriaud, Edgar Kastenholz, Luká Fodrek, Zbigniew Karaszewski, Piotr Mederski, Thomas Rimmler, Arto Rummukainen, Liana Sadauskiene, Jaroslav ... 4, 1180 Vienna, Austria. ...
Innovation in forestry: territorial and value chain relationships, 2011
Aim of study: the paper estimates the economic value of a selected range of forest products and s... more Aim of study: the paper estimates the economic value of a selected range of forest products and services, i.e. roundwood, non-wood forest products (NWFPs), and carbon-related services. Area of study: the research covers 21 Mediterranean countries, distinguished into four sub-regions. Material and methods: data have been gathered from official statistical sources (e.g. FAOSTAT), scientific literature and technical reports. Different estimation approaches based on market-price have been used for different products/services. Main results: the estimated value ranges between €10,512 and €11,158 million (M). Wood products represent more than 85% of the total value. Within them, industrial timber is the most relevant component (65%). Figures for NWFPs are likely to be underestimated because data are available only for some products and countries. When using alternative estimates for pine nuts, pine resin and cork, figures show a €36.8-572 M increase. In geographical terms, the economic value of Mediterranean forests is highly concentrated: NorthWest Mediterranean countries account for 70%, and nearly 90% is in just four countries (France, Spain, Turkey and Italy). Research highlights: enhancing the offer of Mediterranean forest products and increasing their role in the rural economy could help to reduce the costs of forest protection: a well-structured forest economy ensuring stable flows of incomes can provide a fundamental set of public non-market services and social values to both local people and the whole community. Understanding the true value of natural resources, then, is an essential step for promoting their protection and sustainable use.
Good governance approaches in policy formulation and implementation -based on keyconcepts like pa... more Good governance approaches in policy formulation and implementation -based on keyconcepts like participation, networking, transparency and accountability -are more and more adopted by the EU in addressing its rural policies reforms. Public Administrations at all levels should be evaluated with respect to their capacity to respect good governance principles. First, on the basis of a meta-analysis of ongoing initiatives (e.g. the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators), a methodological framework for assessing the quality of new governance modes is presented. Secondly, on the basis of case-studies in Italy, the monitoring and evaluation tools currently used by the European Commission to assess Administrations' performances in rural development programs and Leader approach are compared with the proposed framework. Gaps are identified and discussed. Findings demonstrate, among others, the weakness of the European evaluation system in the analysis of the cost/benefit ratio of (local) governance and non market (environmental, social, distributive) effects.
The methodologies and operational instruments for the assessment of forest governance are still u... more The methodologies and operational instruments for the assessment of forest governance are still under development. While there are some advanced initiatives focused on forest governance assessment at international/ national scale, there are relatively few at local level. However, assessments of local forest governance would be useful for both policy-makers and practitioners. The paper presents and discusses an original set of indicators to measure the quality of forest governance at local administrative/spatial level and the method used to develop them. A draft list of indicators (mainly process-oriented) has been formulated with respect to seven governance key-dimensions (sustainability, efficiency, effectiveness, participation, transparency, accountability and capacity). This draft list has been tested in two pilot applications (data collection by means of questionnaires). The indicators, which include both dichotomous and continuous variables, can be standardized in a few composite indicators to provide concise information about governance performance. Despite some methodological limitations that need to be further explored, the final set of 78 indicators appears to be a simple and practicable assessment tool, that can be used either for external or internal evaluations. Additional tests are needed to consolidate the tool.
ilo.unimol.it
La recente crisi economica e finanziaria che ha investito l'economia mondiale ha portato a scenar... more La recente crisi economica e finanziaria che ha investito l'economia mondiale ha portato a scenari instabili, da un lato con effetti negativi -colpendo e penalizzando il settore primario in molteplici aspetti -dall'altro anche con effetti positivi -stimolando la riflessione e l'attenzione a nuove e più efficaci forme di governance nelle politiche agricole e in generale nell'ambito dello sviluppo rurale. Per una serie di fattori, tra cui ad esempio la crescente domanda di trasparenza e responsabilità espressa dalla società civile in merito all'operato dei soggetti pubblici, nonché degli attori del mondo finanziario ed economico internazionale di fronte alle sfide poste dalla globalizzazione e dai cambiamenti climatici, tali forme innovative di governance si basano sempre più sulla partecipazione di una pluralità di attori nei processi decisionali, sulla condivisione delle responsabilità, su meccanismi distributivi di costi e benefici conseguenti alle decisioni prese, sulla trasparenza e lo scambio delle informazioni, sul coordinamento intra-ed inter-settoriale, sulla creazione di reti e relazioni di interdipendenza, reciprocità e fiducia. Ambiti applicativi preferenziali di queste nuove forme di governance sono, in Italia come in Europa, le politiche ambientali e quelle di sviluppo rurale.
In Italy, about 45,000 ha of forest areas are burned each year. The ignitions are mainly human-ca... more In Italy, about 45,000 ha of forest areas are burned each year. The ignitions are mainly human-caused (over 90 percent) and about 50 percent are arsons. The recent Italian National Law n. 353/2000 therefore prescribes that costs of human-caused fires must be refunded by the person responsible (when discovered). Two main components of the costs are identified: those paid for the active fire-fighting operations and the costs due to forest ecosystem disturbance. This study proposes a methodological framework for estimating the total costs of forest fires and applies the method to a specific area (Veneto region) of the north-eastern Italy. The costs of active fire-fighting were calculated taking into account all Regional forest fire-fighting organizations. Data on volunteers and regional operators, forest fire statistics, equipment and machinery types and use were studied and unit costs (€ h -1 ) calculated at both provincial and regional level. Environmental costs are estimated accounting for different forest benefits: -wood production; -climate change mitigation (CO 2 stocks); -nature and biodiversity conservation; -hydrogeological protection; -tourism activity. Environmental cost complies with the Veneto region forest situation. It is computed by local prices and considering the 2003 Forest Inventory. This method is designed to require very few input data to be measured in the burnt area namely the percentage of dead trees, stand age, distance from the main road and the length of it that could be damaged by falling rocks. A GIS-ACCESS application allows cost computation to be automated and to integrate all the results. These results will be used in legal proceedings when the person responsible for a fire is caught.
... and other actors and the roles they play in delivering effective, accountable solutions to sh... more ... and other actors and the roles they play in delivering effective, accountable solutions to shared problems(IIED 2009). ... Moreover the existing projects and guidelines for defining a common methodological approach within the European context, and identifying cost Table 1 ...
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Papers by Davide Pettenella