The aim of this work is to illustrate the historical evolution of man's intervention in wate... more The aim of this work is to illustrate the historical evolution of man's intervention in water resource management in the Veneto region in order to highlight, from both the technical and financial points of view, the ability of the institution of the consortia to join public and private interests and to adapt itself to the changing economical and social needs in this region.
Summary The paper proposes an approach for evaluating the effect of flow fixed costs on the evalu... more Summary The paper proposes an approach for evaluating the effect of flow fixed costs on the evaluation of environmental benefits with travel cost method. On a full annual perspective when recreational users incur relevant annual direct fixed expenses, their behaviour could be influenced by them. The approach introduces a) the notion of the minimal number of annual visits that justifies
Water pollution in the Venice Lagoon and its catchment is a main environmental issue. In Italy pu... more Water pollution in the Venice Lagoon and its catchment is a main environmental issue. In Italy public funds are made available by specific national and regional regulations in order to support the realisation of initiatives for the abatement of pollutant loads that travel from the catchment into the lagoon. Local agencies in charge of water management may apply for funds
The Venice lagoon is the largest one in the Mediterranean sea (550 km 2 ). It is a relevant site ... more The Venice lagoon is the largest one in the Mediterranean sea (550 km 2 ). It is a relevant site for both professional fishing and recreation (fishing and boating). The paper estimates the recreational and sport-fishing demand using the contingent valuation method. A stratified sample-based survey has been made in order to a) quantify and describe the visitors, b) estimate the demand function of homogeneous recreational users' subgroups, c) estimate the total annual recreational use value of the lagoon, d) simulate potential financing by users aimed to improve conservation management. Main results are: a) the survey has shown that around 13,000 users per year can be estimated (71% boating, and 29% fishing); the average number of annual visits per user is 5.4, b) the demand functions resulting from contingent valuation have been estimated, c) the total recreational surplus differs significantly both between fishing and boating users, and between users living in Venice (25%) and in the mainland (75%), d) the simulations of management policies financing conservation measures have been evaluated from the viewpoint of the users' welfare. Different users' charges have been considered. For example, a ¼ DQQXDO HQWUDQFH IHH FRXOG EH FKDUJHG RQ PDLQODQG UHFUHDWLRQDO XVHUV ZLWKRXW UHGXFLQJ WKH total visitors' number. However, management policies have to take into account redistributional effects and access rights of residents in Venice.
Developing decision support systems for environmental applications is an intricate, challenging t... more Developing decision support systems for environmental applications is an intricate, challenging task. The increasing complexity of environmental decision problems, the growing number of subjects involved and keen competition between conflicting interests make decisions and decision support difficult. Decision support systems have been developed since the 1970s to help tackle semi-structured and unstructured decision problems. Despite their popularity, the success of DSS development is uncertain and many computerised decision-support tools have failed when dealing with complex and unstructured problems. This article describes the development methodology and progress of mDSS, a decision support system for water resource management that has been developed under the European research project MULINO. The mDSS tool is designed to integrate environmental (especially hydrological) models with multiple-criteria evaluation procedures. A number of prototypes have been developed and the final version is expected at the end of the 3-year project. The system's development is driven by the experience acquired in several case studies selected in five European countries. Although the main aim of the MULINO project and the DSS is to help with increasingly complex decisions of general water management, the concepts of sustainable river basin management introduced by the water framework directive are addressed as well.
ABSTRACT The paper proposes a ‘component-based’ approach to guide the choice of the social discou... more ABSTRACT The paper proposes a ‘component-based’ approach to guide the choice of the social discount rate in natural resources damage assessment, where time and discounting are key features. It is a multi-rate discounting scheme, which draws on concepts from dual-rate and time-declining approaches. Each damage component is discounted at a component-specific constant rate, related to its time-trajectory. Assuming a normatively defined declining schedule of rates as a starting reference, components with longer time profiles – generally represented by welfare losses – are discounted at lower rates than short-term damage components — mainly remedial costs. The rationale behind this choice is that the longer the duration of the damage component, the higher the related nonincident specific uncertainty on the resource values and the more relevant the equity issues. When estimating the total damage, the resulting implicit average discount rate depends on the duration of each component and its relative relevance in the total damage in each moment. From an operational point of view, anchoring the rates to government prescriptions would support the robustness of the damage estimates in a court of law, whereas the dual-based environmental discount rate is based on ad-hoc assumptions that are more difficult to justify.
ABSTRACT This paper presents the results from a research project aimed at evaluating management s... more ABSTRACT This paper presents the results from a research project aimed at evaluating management schemes for rural land. The case study area is located in the eastern part of Venice province, between the Livenza and Tagliamento rivers, along the Adriatic coast, where an environment conservation project is planned. A multi-criteria approach is adopted and the used methodology allows for organizing analysis in a strictly logical sequence to assess the ‘overall desirability’, in terms of agricultural production and environmental conservation, of different regulatory schemes proposed for managing the protected area.
The objective of the paper is to present the results of the application of AHP and ANP to support... more The objective of the paper is to present the results of the application of AHP and ANP to support a strategic decision in the field of railway transportation in Italy. The problem issue involves various actors in the process of choosing the most promising alternative among four different infrastructural projects. At a first stage the problem was analyzed and modeled following the AHP methodology: a hierarchy was constructed and relative priorities were obtained by means of a panel of experts. During the assessment process, some considerations arose about the complexity of the problem and, as a consequence, about the effectiveness of the AHP basic hypotheses. This led to a further stage of the assessment process. The aim of this new phase was to explicitly include within the process interactions between different clusters of the decision model through the ANP approach. The structure of this second model enriched the previous hierarchy by considering the most evident feed-back relations, so the ANP data were basically the same as in AHP. Finally, the same study case was modeled as an ANP network with the BOCR scheme. This final stage required a very profound (and time-consuming) comprehension of the matter both by the analysts and by the actors involved in the process. The contribution of this work to the discussion, is to draw a comparison between the AHP and the ANP paradigms for decision aiding and to propose some considerations on their application in a specific problem situation.
The aim of this work is to illustrate the historical evolution of man's intervention in wate... more The aim of this work is to illustrate the historical evolution of man's intervention in water resource management in the Veneto region in order to highlight, from both the technical and financial points of view, the ability of the institution of the consortia to join public and private interests and to adapt itself to the changing economical and social needs in this region.
Summary The paper proposes an approach for evaluating the effect of flow fixed costs on the evalu... more Summary The paper proposes an approach for evaluating the effect of flow fixed costs on the evaluation of environmental benefits with travel cost method. On a full annual perspective when recreational users incur relevant annual direct fixed expenses, their behaviour could be influenced by them. The approach introduces a) the notion of the minimal number of annual visits that justifies
Water pollution in the Venice Lagoon and its catchment is a main environmental issue. In Italy pu... more Water pollution in the Venice Lagoon and its catchment is a main environmental issue. In Italy public funds are made available by specific national and regional regulations in order to support the realisation of initiatives for the abatement of pollutant loads that travel from the catchment into the lagoon. Local agencies in charge of water management may apply for funds
The Venice lagoon is the largest one in the Mediterranean sea (550 km 2 ). It is a relevant site ... more The Venice lagoon is the largest one in the Mediterranean sea (550 km 2 ). It is a relevant site for both professional fishing and recreation (fishing and boating). The paper estimates the recreational and sport-fishing demand using the contingent valuation method. A stratified sample-based survey has been made in order to a) quantify and describe the visitors, b) estimate the demand function of homogeneous recreational users' subgroups, c) estimate the total annual recreational use value of the lagoon, d) simulate potential financing by users aimed to improve conservation management. Main results are: a) the survey has shown that around 13,000 users per year can be estimated (71% boating, and 29% fishing); the average number of annual visits per user is 5.4, b) the demand functions resulting from contingent valuation have been estimated, c) the total recreational surplus differs significantly both between fishing and boating users, and between users living in Venice (25%) and in the mainland (75%), d) the simulations of management policies financing conservation measures have been evaluated from the viewpoint of the users' welfare. Different users' charges have been considered. For example, a ¼ DQQXDO HQWUDQFH IHH FRXOG EH FKDUJHG RQ PDLQODQG UHFUHDWLRQDO XVHUV ZLWKRXW UHGXFLQJ WKH total visitors' number. However, management policies have to take into account redistributional effects and access rights of residents in Venice.
Developing decision support systems for environmental applications is an intricate, challenging t... more Developing decision support systems for environmental applications is an intricate, challenging task. The increasing complexity of environmental decision problems, the growing number of subjects involved and keen competition between conflicting interests make decisions and decision support difficult. Decision support systems have been developed since the 1970s to help tackle semi-structured and unstructured decision problems. Despite their popularity, the success of DSS development is uncertain and many computerised decision-support tools have failed when dealing with complex and unstructured problems. This article describes the development methodology and progress of mDSS, a decision support system for water resource management that has been developed under the European research project MULINO. The mDSS tool is designed to integrate environmental (especially hydrological) models with multiple-criteria evaluation procedures. A number of prototypes have been developed and the final version is expected at the end of the 3-year project. The system's development is driven by the experience acquired in several case studies selected in five European countries. Although the main aim of the MULINO project and the DSS is to help with increasingly complex decisions of general water management, the concepts of sustainable river basin management introduced by the water framework directive are addressed as well.
ABSTRACT The paper proposes a ‘component-based’ approach to guide the choice of the social discou... more ABSTRACT The paper proposes a ‘component-based’ approach to guide the choice of the social discount rate in natural resources damage assessment, where time and discounting are key features. It is a multi-rate discounting scheme, which draws on concepts from dual-rate and time-declining approaches. Each damage component is discounted at a component-specific constant rate, related to its time-trajectory. Assuming a normatively defined declining schedule of rates as a starting reference, components with longer time profiles – generally represented by welfare losses – are discounted at lower rates than short-term damage components — mainly remedial costs. The rationale behind this choice is that the longer the duration of the damage component, the higher the related nonincident specific uncertainty on the resource values and the more relevant the equity issues. When estimating the total damage, the resulting implicit average discount rate depends on the duration of each component and its relative relevance in the total damage in each moment. From an operational point of view, anchoring the rates to government prescriptions would support the robustness of the damage estimates in a court of law, whereas the dual-based environmental discount rate is based on ad-hoc assumptions that are more difficult to justify.
ABSTRACT This paper presents the results from a research project aimed at evaluating management s... more ABSTRACT This paper presents the results from a research project aimed at evaluating management schemes for rural land. The case study area is located in the eastern part of Venice province, between the Livenza and Tagliamento rivers, along the Adriatic coast, where an environment conservation project is planned. A multi-criteria approach is adopted and the used methodology allows for organizing analysis in a strictly logical sequence to assess the ‘overall desirability’, in terms of agricultural production and environmental conservation, of different regulatory schemes proposed for managing the protected area.
The objective of the paper is to present the results of the application of AHP and ANP to support... more The objective of the paper is to present the results of the application of AHP and ANP to support a strategic decision in the field of railway transportation in Italy. The problem issue involves various actors in the process of choosing the most promising alternative among four different infrastructural projects. At a first stage the problem was analyzed and modeled following the AHP methodology: a hierarchy was constructed and relative priorities were obtained by means of a panel of experts. During the assessment process, some considerations arose about the complexity of the problem and, as a consequence, about the effectiveness of the AHP basic hypotheses. This led to a further stage of the assessment process. The aim of this new phase was to explicitly include within the process interactions between different clusters of the decision model through the ANP approach. The structure of this second model enriched the previous hierarchy by considering the most evident feed-back relations, so the ANP data were basically the same as in AHP. Finally, the same study case was modeled as an ANP network with the BOCR scheme. This final stage required a very profound (and time-consuming) comprehension of the matter both by the analysts and by the actors involved in the process. The contribution of this work to the discussion, is to draw a comparison between the AHP and the ANP paradigms for decision aiding and to propose some considerations on their application in a specific problem situation.
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Papers by Paolo Rosato