Assessment Of Economic Sustainability Research Articles

Methodology for the sustainability assessment of marine technologies

Abstract This contribution presents an integrated quantitative approach for the holistic assessment of the sustainability of technologies. The methodology envisages environmental, economic and social sustainability assessments separately, then collates them to obtain a single measure of sustainability. Standard life cycle assessment and economic evaluation methods are used to provide quantitative measures for environmental and economic parameters. A new method is used to evaluate the social sustainability, enabling the quantitative integration of all three indices. Individual indices are developed and combined to provide a single performance index of sustainability. This particular tool allows technology stakeholders to incorporate sustainability principles to their design and operation activities. It provides also a benchmark platform for comparing various technologies from a sustainability standpoint.

Technology sustainability assessment to support decision making on energy production at local scale

Considering climate issues, the Kyoto Protocol is the most important worldwide reference aimed at reducing greenhouse gases that cause climate change; going further, the recent European Climate and Energy Policy defi nes binding targets for 2020, that include increasing use of renewable energy (wind, solar, biomass, etc.) to 20% of total energy production. In order to identify the most suitable strategies to achieve this objective, an evaluation of some relevant issues that can affect the sustainability of possible renewable energy options is necessary. This study focus on technology sustainability assessment of energy production from forest biomass, defi ning a set of indicators to provide a decision support system (DSS) for local decision makers, enabling them to evaluate the environmental impacts, the resource availability and renewability, the feasibility of the technology in the local context and the social acceptance of the plant among the local community. The case study presented in this article refers to an Italian mountain community (Comunita Montana delle Alpi Lepontine) in northern Italy, where the assessment of environmental, economic and social sustainability of a plant producing electricity powered by Syngas coming from gasifi cation of forest biomass was performed. The aim of the research was to develop a multidisciplinary DSS to assess the feasibility of the application and to defi ne guidelines for sustainability assessment of technologies for energy production using forest biomass, identifying critical issues and potential areas of optimization.

Infrastructure Network Development, Re-territorialization Processes and Multilevel Territorial Governance: A Case Study in Northern Italy

Infrastructure networks play a crucial role in the construction of the territory because they create connections among places and define spatial systems in physical and economic as well as political terms. The development of mobility networks activate the re-definition of the constituting relations of territories (de-territorialization and re-territorialization processes) and interact with the re-scaling of territorial governance; new actors appear on the scene and places take part in ‘multiple spatialities’. Territorial planning has to face the new infrastructure proposals within multilevel governance processes. This paper addresses these issues on the basis of a case study regarding a proposal for a ‘territorial platform’, named Ti-Bre, between the Brenner axis and the Tuscany harbour system, in Italy. This is a new connection that may change traditional transport flows, challenging regional and sectoral visions and plans as well as territorial cooperation processes, and requiring appropriate assessment of environmental and economic sustainability.

Assessment of economic sustainability of the strip clear-cutting system in the Peruvian Amazon

Abstract Strip clear-cutting (or the Palcazu Forest Management System) is a natural forest management system where narrow strips are clear-cut with harvest cycles of every 40 years. We assessed the economic sustainability of this system by calculating net present values (NPVs) at the time of a second harvest in two strips clear-cut in 1989, in the Peruvian Amazon. NPVs were calculated under three growth models or scenarios: (1) realistic (all light environments), (2) optimistic (higher light as could be achieved under intensive forest management), and (3) growth potential (fastest growing individuals). For each scenario, we calculated the production and value of timber products (sawnwood, roundwood, and charcoal), and their cost of harvesting, processing and transport. For comparison purposes, these calculations were also done for a deferment-cut treatment, applied in 1989 to half of one of the two strips. The three growth models predicted a production of 1.88 to 22.43 m3/ha of sawnwood, 81 to 92 pieces/ha of roundwood, and 11 to 19 ton/ha of charcoal from clear-cut strips. The total value of these products ranged from $3112 to $10,511/ha, assuming that sawnwood was purchased at certified prices. The total cost of harvesting, processing, and transport of timber products ranged from $3020 to $6167/ha. Net earnings ranged from −$75/ha to +$4344/ha. The net present value (NPV) of the clear-cut strips with certified sawnwood ranged between −$54/ha and +$1271/ha at a 5% discount rate, and between −$73/ha and +$78/ha at a 15% discount rate, the most realistic rate for Peru. These values were much lower than +$131 to +$540, the range of NPV at 15% discount rate for the deferment-cut treatment with certified sawnwood. The strip clear-cutting system is not economically sustainable due to slow tree growth, low income from timber products, and high costs for this system. Cutting cycles longer than 40 years may be required to increase timber yields and make this system profitable.

A data envelopment analysis approach to the assessment of natural parks' economic efficiency and sustainability. The case of Italian national parks

AbstractWilderness protection is a growing necessity for modern societies, and this is particularly true for areas where population density is extremely high, for example Europe. Conservation, however, implies very high opportunity costs. It is thus crucial to create incentives for efficient management practices, to promote benchmarking and to improve conservation management. In the present paper we propose a methodology based on data envelopment analysis, DEA, a non‐parametric benchmarking technique specifically developed to assess the relative efficiency of decision‐making units. In particular, the objective of the discussed methodology is to assess the relative efficiency of the management units of the protected area and to indicate how it could be improved, by providing a set of guidelines. The main advantage of this methodology is that it allows us to assess the efficiency of natural park management not only internally (comparing the performance of the park with itself over time) but also by external benchmarking, thus providing new and different perspectives on potential improvements. Although the proposed methodology is fairly general, we have applied it to the context of Italian national parks in order to produce a representative case study. Specifically, the choice of adequate cost and benefit indicators is a very important and delicate phase of any benchmark analysis. For this purpose, a questionnaire was used to investigate the opinions of Italian national park managers and stakeholders and to define the relevant indicators for the analysis. Finally, relevant policy implications for the case study are given. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach to the Assessment of Natural Parks' Economic Efficiency and Sustainability. The Case of Italian National Parks

Wilderness protection is a growing necessity for modern societies, and this is particularly true for areas where population density is extremely high, as for example Europe. Conservation, however, implies very high opportunity costs. It is thus crucial to create incentives to efficient management practices, to promote benchmarking and to improve conservation management. In the present paper we propose a methodology based on Data Envelopment Analysis, DEA, a non parametric benchmarking technique specifically developed to assess the relative efficiency of decision-making units. In particular, the objective of the discussed methodology is to assess the relative efficiency of the management units of the protected area and to indicate how it could be improved, by providing a set of guidelines. The main advantage of this methodology is that it allows to assess the efficiency of natural parks' management not only internally (comparing the performance of the park to itself in time) but also by external benchmarking, thus providing new and different perspectives on potential improvements. Although the proposed methodology is fairly general, we have applied it to the context of Italian National Parks in order to produce a representative case study. Specifically, the choice of adequate cost and benefit indicators is a very important and delicate phase of any benchmark analysis. For this purpose, a questionnaire was used to investigate the opinions of Italian National Parks managers and stakeholders and to define the relevant indicators for the analysis. Finally, relevant policy implications for the case study are given.