Modelling the interplay of environment, economy and resources in Marine Protected Areas. A case study in Southern Italy

Abstract

In order to improve environmental management and policy making based on the principles of sustainable development it is necessary to explore both ecological and economic dynamics interacting in human-dominated ecosystems. A way to perform such an integrated assessment is provided by the Emergy Synthesis method that allows to account for mass, energy and money flows supporting a given ecosystem. In this paper Geographical Information System and Emergy Synthesis methods were combined to model the interplay of environment, economy, and resources in the Site of Community Interest named Parco Marino di S. Maria di Castellabate and located in Southern Italy. The GIS allowed to organize and explore data dealing with several environmental features while the emergy modelling and accounting provided a characterization of the energy metabolism of the study area.The solar transformity of the net primary production of the marine system resulted in 4.86·104 seJ Joule-1. The emergy cost for fish and mollusk (two of the main products of the fishing sector) resulted in 1.05·107 seJ Joule-1 and 2.43·107 seJ Joule-1, respectively. These emergy-based indicators provided information about the environmental performance of the marine ecosystem and its fishing economic sector by relating the input emergy invested into the processes with the generated outputs.The solar transformities calculated in this case study (one of the first ever performed in Italy by adopting this methodological approach) will provide a benchmark for future comparison with similar marine systems in Italy and abroad.In conclusion, the combined use of GIS and Emergy Synthesis methods resulted a promising approach able to provide a deeper understanding of human-managed ecosystems and their dynamics.