Municipal Scale Research Articles

A novel approach to model for the management of drinking water and sanitation services at municipal scale

AbstractThis paper deals with a novel approach to the model for the management of drinking water and sanitation services at the municipal level for the Municipality of San Joaquin, Carabobo State, Venezuela (SJM‐CS). The Autonomous Institute of Water (IAGUASAJO) of the SJM‐CS showed a significant increase in the performance of its functions with respect to the Municipal Directorate of Water and Public Works in the period 2019–2021. In the period 2020–2021, IAGUASANJO has performed functions with the main service provider at the regional/national level as well as with the communal councils of four communes located within the Municipality of San Joaquin. These functions encompassed the supervision, inspection, construction and rehabilitation of drinking water and sanitation services, making progress in the process of transition from the provision of services from the regional/national provider to the local provider at the municipal level.

Global Economic and Diet Transitions Drive Latin American and Caribbean Forest Change during the First Decade of the Century: A Multi-Scale Analysis of Socioeconomic, Demographic, and Environmental Drivers of Local Forest Cover Change

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) contain more tropical high-biodiversity forest than the remaining areas of the planet combined, yet experienced more than a third of global deforestation during the first decade of the 21st century. While drivers of forest change occur at multiple scales, we examined forest change at the municipal and national scales integrated with global processes such as capital, commodity, and labor flows. We modeled multi-scale socioeconomic, demographic, and environmental drivers of local forest cover change. Consistent with LAC’s global leadership in soy and beef exports, primarily to China, Russia, the US, and the EU, national-level beef and soy production were the primary land use drivers of decreased forest cover. National level gross domestic product (GDP), migrant worker remittances and foreign investment, along with municipal-level temperature and area, were also significantly related to reduced forest cover. This challenges forest transition frameworks, which theorize that rising GDP and intensified agricultural production should be increasingly associated with forest regrowth. Instead, LAC forest change was linked to local, national, and global demographic, dietary and economic transitions, resulting in massive net forest cover loss. This suggests an urgent need to reconcile forest conservation with mounting global demand for animal protein.

‘Old’ Territorial Disparities and ‘New’ Spatial Patterns: Unraveling the Latent Nexus between Sustainable Development and Desertification Risk in Italy

Although sustainable development and desertification risk are hegemonic concepts in environmental economics, their intimate relationship was occasionally studied and made spatially explicit. The present study contributes to fill this knowledge gap by delineating a statistical procedure that investigates, at the municipal scale in Italy, the association between two composite indexes of sustainable development (SDI) and desertification risk (ESAI). Based on a refined knowledge of the local context, results of a geographically weighted regression delineate two distinctive territorial models reflecting the mutual interplay of sustainable development and desertification risk in Italy. The level of sustainable development was negatively associated with desertification risk in Southern Italy, a region classified as ‘affected’ based on the Italian National Action Plan (NAP) to combat desertification. These findings document a traditional ‘downward spiral’ between local development and early desertification processes, suggesting that a high desertification risk is associated with local contexts having structural conditions that lead to unsustainable development, e.g., population growth, industrial development, tourism pressure, crop intensification, agricultural mechanization, and land abandonment. In non-affected regions such as Northern and Central Italy, the level of sustainable development was positively associated with desertification risk, indicating that sustainability conditions can be unable, at least in some local contexts, to assure a significant containment of environmental degradation. Policy strategies reconnecting local development with more specific environmental conservation targets in development countries are increasingly required to adapt to (and differentiate on the base of) heterogeneous local contexts.

What Governance Failures Reveal about Water Resources Management in a Municipality of Brazil

Humans have historically chosen to develop their cities close to rivers due to the need for water and food security. In Brazil, water security represents a growing challenge, despite advances in the National Water Resources Management System. While municipalities are responsible for integrating the various public policies that impact urban rivers, such as the environment, basic sanitation, and urban planning, only states and the federal government, along with watershed committees, have a formal role in the National Water Resources Management System. The goal of this paper is to assess the Brazilian water governance system from the perspective of municipalities. The OECD water governance framework is applied to a medium-sized Brazilian municipality (c. 200,000 inhabitants), Itabuna, Bahia state, through perception-based and objective data. Studies dealing with water governance do not address this reality, despite representing more than 90% Brazilian municipalities and approximately half of the country’s population. Several water governance failures were identified, such as connections between administrative and political failures, which highlight the tragic consequences of hydrological issues in this region. Developing integrated water resources’ management, as fixed in national and state laws, depends on the effective participation of the municipality. This study discusses the importance of water governance at the municipal scale.

Study on temporal and spatial differentiation of biocapacity in Shenyang from a multi-scale perspective.

Biocapacity of a region exhibits spatial differences owing to the limitations of regional scale and natural conditions. Based on the multi-scale perspective, we comprehensively studied and analyzed the temporal and spatial differences of the biocapacity of a region in an attempt to establish the groundwork for optimizing urban development and its utilization framework. By adopting the ecological footprint model along with multi-scale difference evaluation method, the municipal and county scales are incorporated into a unified analysis framework in this paper, thereby facilitating the exploration of the temporal and spatial differences in the biocapacity of Shenyang—a city in China—from 2005 to 2019. The results demonstrated that: 1) At the municipal scale, the biocapacity per capita fluctuated between 1.35 hm2/person and 2.22 hm2/person. It revealed an “up-down-up” trend, which appeared consistent with the Kuznets cycle; at the county scale, the biocapacity depicted spatial differences, while those of downtown and surrounding districts/counties developed a two-level ascending hierarchical structure. 2) The time series of footprint size and depth first ascended and then declined, and can be classified into four types: closed type, inverted U-type, S-type, and M-type. Among them, S-type and M-type have the phenomenon of over-utilizing the stock capital. 3) For a long time, the regional difference of biocapacity has mostly dwelt on two scales with an evident scale effect, and the biocapacity of Liaozhong District was the worst.

Scales of inequality: The role of spatial extent in environmental justice analysis

Although environmental justice scholars have been addressing spatial scale for at least thirty years, one of its components remains largely overlooked, namely extent. In this paper, we investigate the effects of extent variation in environmental (in)justice patterns by analyzing the statistical associations between socio-economic marginality and environmental vulnerability at three different spatial scopes: metropolitan areas, municipalities, and boroughs. Using census and geospatial data, our case study focuses on the relations between income and color/race, on the one hand, and susceptibility to flooding and landslides, on the other, in Brazil’s two largest cities (São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro). We constructe an integrated, census tract-level database using areal weighting interpolation combining census with susceptibility data to perform k-means multivariate clustering analysis. Although our results show that the most vulnerable to landslides and flooding are non-white, low-income people – confirming common environmental justice claims – they also suggest that spatial extent impinges on statistical patterns. While the clusters are very similar in the metropolitan and municipal scales, pointing to a fractal-like structure, they differ significantly at the borough scale. This smaller scale reveals a different picture, one in which well-to-do white people are just as exposed to hazards (especially flooding) as non-white, middle- to lower-middle-class people. We argue this is a result of elite self-exposure to risk, which is supported by socio-spatially unjust distribution of risk-mitigation infrastructures. Policymakers should pay attention to such scale-dependent complexities in devising ways to cope with the increasing inequities brought about by climate change.

Bio-districts and the territory: evidence from a regression approach

In recent years the bio-districts have been considerably spread in Italy. The bio-district can be defined as a locally rooted multifunctional project with the involvement of farms and institutions. Our research aims at assessing potential relations between territorial, socio-economic features and the presence of bio-districts in an area, by means of a logit regression analysis at municipal scale in Italy. Data have been collected from several sources, among which ISTAT digital databases. Main results show as farms with diversification activities and the presence of Local Action Groups are factors related to the rising of bio-districts in a territory. Moreover, the study highlights the role of bio-districts in disadvantageous and mountain areas, in developing effective territorial governance. In terms of policy implication, CAP 2023-2027 can constitute the ideal bench for testing bio-districts function playing a crucial role in reaching the objective set by the Farm to Fork strategy.

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Entrepreneurial Activities and Its Driving Factors in the Yangtze River Delta, China

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the spatiotemporal evolution of entrepreneurial activities in the local municipalities of the Yangtze River Delta at long timescales from a geographic perspective and to reveal the underlying factors driving such evolution. The ontology of entrepreneurial activities—startups—was chosen as the object of this study, and the developmental characteristics of entrepreneurial activities in the region since 2001 were explored in two dimensions: time series changes and spatial evolution. The driving mechanism was further explored using the geographical detector. The results showed that: (1) Intensive entrepreneurial activities have been underway in the Yangtze River Delta since the beginning of the 21st century. The entrepreneurial process has undergone a stable period of slow growth (2001–2013), as well as one of rapid growth (2014–2018). The number of startups increased during this period, from 241,700 in 2001 to 1,959,600 in 2018. (2) The density of entrepreneurial activities in the Yangtze River Delta has increased since 2001. The agglomerative patterns showed developmental trends of both concentration and diffusion, forming a dotted pattern of agglomeration centered on the provincial capitals of Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Hefei and a belt of agglomeration centered on Shanghai-Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou. (3) High-value agglomeration of entrepreneurial activities was found to be relatively stable, and low-value agglomeration steadily weakened. Shanghai, Suzhou, and Nantong have long been part of H-H clusters, while Chizhou, Wuhu, Bozhou, Huaibei, and Huainan in Anhui have become areas of depressed entrepreneurial activities. (4) Financial strength, degree of informationization, economic foundation, innovative vitality, openness, and market demand are the main factors affecting entrepreneurial activities in the Yangtze River Delta. Entrepreneurial activities have significant spatial correlation, and areas with high entrepreneurial vitality radiate their effect to the entrepreneurial activities in the surrounding areas. The factors affecting entrepreneurial activities have multiple characteristics, and policy makers should promote entrepreneurial activities with a comprehensive vision and multi-channel efforts. The findings of this study add to the understanding of the spatial proximity characteristics of long time series of entrepreneurial activities at the municipal scale in developing countries and reveal the characteristics of the multi-factor combinations affecting them.

Most Attractive Scenic Sites of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast: Characterization and Sensitivity to Natural and Human Factors

Beach management is a complex process that demands a multidisciplinary approach, as beaches display a large variety of functions, e.g., protection, recreation and associated biodiversity conservation. Frequently, conflicts of interest arise, since management approaches are usually focused on recreation, preferring short-term benefits over sustainable development strategies; meanwhile, coastal areas have to adapt and face a changing environment under the effects of long-term climate change. Based on a “Sea, Sun and Sand (3S)” market, coastal tourism has become a major economic sector that depends completely on the coastal ecosystem quality, whilst strongly contributing to its deterioration by putting at risk its sustainability. Among beach users’ preferences, five parameters stand out: safety, facilities, water quality, litter and scenery (the “Big Five”), and the latter is the focus of this paper. Bulgaria has impressive scenic diversity and uniqueness, presenting real challenges and opportunities as an emerging tourist destination in terms of sustainable development. However, most developing countries tend to ignore mistakes made previously by developed ones. In this paper, scenic beauty at 16 coastal sites was field-tested by using a well-known methodology, i.e., the Coastal Scenic Evaluation System (CSES), which enables the calculation of an Evaluation Index “D” based on 26 physical and human parameters, utilizing fuzzy logic matrices. An assessment was made of these high-quality sites located in Burgas (8), Varna (3) and Dobrich (4) provinces. Their sensitivity to natural processes (in a climate change context) and human pressure (considering tourist trends and population increases at the municipality scale) were quantified via the Coastal Scenic Sensitivity Indexes (CSSIs) method. The CSES and CSSI methods allowed us to conduct site classification within different scenic categories, reflecting their attractiveness (Classes I–V; CSES) and level of sensitivity (Groups I–III; CSSI). Their relationship made it possible to identify management priorities: the main scenic impacts and sensitivity issues were analyzed in detail and characterized, and judicious measures were proposed for the scenic preservation and enhancement of the investigated sites. Seven sites were classified as extremely attractive (Class I; CSES), but with slight management efforts; several Class II sites could be upgraded as top scenic sites, e.g., by cleaning and monitoring beach litter. This paper also reveals that investigated sectors were more sensitive to environmental impacts than human pressure; for example, eight were categorized as being very sensitive to natural processes (Group III; CSSI).

An assessment of systems, agents, and institutions in building community resilience to climate change: A case study of Charlottetown, Canada

While climate change manifests itself as a global phenomenon, impacts are experienced most acutely at the local scale. As a result, the onus of responding to climate change impacts through planning policies and practice falls on local government decision-makers. This qualitative study, based in Charlottetown, Canada, utilizes the framework of resilience theory to examine the relationship between systems, agents, and institutions in addressing climate vulnerability to build community resilience. Findings suggest that while non-municipal agents such as senior orders of government and external organizations are championing proactive adaptation through climate impact research and adaptation initiatives, the municipality has taken a non-urgent, reactionary approach in the face of climate stressors, often implementing initiatives that further exacerbate climate vulnerability. In the face of system vulnerabilities and cascading failures, deep institutional barriers, influencing and influenced by agents, contribute to the low prioritization of climate adaptation action. Institutional and agent-induced constraints at the municipal scale have led to the lack of internal initiative to act within the municipality, undermining the efforts of external organizations and senior orders of government. This study highlights the importance of robust local government agents and institutions as a prerequisite to enable local-scale climate adaptation.

Análisis de la vulnerabilidad del turismo y el ocio ante enjambres de medusas en la Costa del Sol oriental. Una perspectiva multiescalar y multitemporal.

A methodological essay is presented to assess vulnerability of beaches´ human activity caused by jellyfish blooms arrivals. The pilot study area are the beaches of Torre del Mar and Caleta de Vélez (Velez-Málaga, Spain). The methodology proposes various criteria to assess the vulnerability of the tourism sector at various levels of scale, both in spatial and temporal dimensions. There are three spatial levels: scale of detail (the beach itself), socioeconomic influence area and municipal scale. On the other hand, the short and long-term consequences are estimated at a temporary level. Fundamentally, user surveys, interviews with economic actors in the area and analysis of statistical records are used. In general, it is observed that part of the economic activity related to the beaches improves in the short term with the presence of jellyfish while in the long term it suffers.

An Integrative Collaborative Project Approach to Climate-Change Resilience and Urban/Regional Sustainability for the Mexico-Lerma-Cutzamala Hydrological Region

In a rapidly urbanizing world, the social, economic, and ecological complexities of cities require conceptual and operational innovations to enhance climate resilience and sustainability. We describe our Integrative Collaborative Project (ICP) approach to co-create climate resilience in the Mexico-Lerma-Cutzamala Hydrological Region (MLCHR). In recent years, it has suffered from frequent natural disasters, and under climate change scenarios, the intensity and frequency of extreme events, including severe floods, droughts, heat waves and landslides are expected to increase. ICPs are framed as socio-technical capacity building enterprises, with networks operating at multiple scales. The approach differs from other integrative efforts, which tend to be top-down with scant civil society co-ownership, and focus on limited aspects like indicators/assessment, or institutional capacity building. We reimagine all operational stages, from creative thinking, through ethos and concept, assessment, planning, project design, implementation and management, and monitoring and evaluation. The design of ICPs is informed by six integrative domains: 1) project ethos, concept, and framing; 2) sectors, topics, and issues; 3) spatial and temporal scales; 4) stakeholder interests, relationships and capacities; 5) knowledge types, models and methods; and 6) socio-technical capacities and networks. Empirically, the approach is based on participatory development practices, pilot project work tackling sustainable water and sanitation in Mexico, and a synthesis of rich experiential knowledge spanning 20 years. The theoretical basis considers a pragmatic knowledge frame, socio-technical transitions literature, and education for social transformation. We describe forward-looking operational details of the Pilot ICP for the Mexico-Lerma-Cutzamala Hydrological Region, with our three-university partnership as catalyst, and a new breed of socio-technical enterprise organization as a key partner, engaging stakeholders at municipal and regional scales.

Value and Quality in the Dialectics between Human and Urban Capital of the City Networks on the Land District Scale

This contribution proposes an inter-scalar and multi-polar analysis evaluation model of the territory of the Enna district, aimed at providing a robust axiological representation of the salient aspects of the general issue of internal areas, and therefore of the set of criticalities affecting them from the perspective of the human and urban capital they express. In the prospect of investigating the relations between urban and life quality—corresponding to the “city effect”—in the territorial context of each of the 20 municipalities of the Enna district, a hierarchical descriptive-valuation model was created, which coordinates a relevant amount of information units (data) and the corresponding attributes, indicators and indices that have been turned in aggregate value judgments attributed to each administrative land unit, from the perspectives of the criteria referred to as the main forms of the territorial capital. This is a multi-dimensional valuation model based on the Multi-Attribute Value Theory. Each survey and processing is mapped with different levels of detail at the scale of municipalities, census sections and cadastral land units. The outcome of this complex process of analysis and assessment provides multiple comparisons, revealing unexpected and sometimes counter-intuitive aspects in several municipalities, some of which are characterised by innovative prospects and opportunities for redevelopment of their historic centers. Correlations between information units at the different levels of the dendrogram have also indicated interesting trends and attitudes, whose comparisons can address territorial policies on both a local and provincial scale. Furthermore, the focus on the “cities network” is here assumed and proposed as the privileged point of observation of territory and the related aspects of the quality of life.

Groundwater rebound and flooding in the Naples' periurban area (Italy)

AbstractGroundwater bodies in the urbanized and densely populated aquifers or coastal floodplains may be subjected to groundwater rebound (GR), often causing serious risks of groundwater flooding (GF) to underground structures and infrastructures. This paper shows the results of a study carried out in the Naples' periurban area (Italy) to: investigate the dynamics and features of GR and GF phenomena, map flooded sites during 2013–2015 period, and provide an interpretative analysis of the factors that control the GF of private buildings and agricultural lands. At the municipality scale, since 1990 and until 2015, a remarkable and widespread GR was observed, with magnitude up to +16.54 m, triggering an unexpected GF of basements of buildings and agricultural soils. Field surveys proved that there is a time delay of the GF, ranging from 17 to 20 years, compared to the start of GR. Moreover, inhomogeneous distribution of flooding episodes is controlled by anthropogenic and natural factors. The obtained results are fundamental to design mitigation measures to GF hazard, and offer new perspectives to make Naples' periurban area more robust, smart and resilient against this new hydrogeological risk, undervalued by Italian legislation and local authorities.

Green infrastructure connectivity analysis across spatiotemporal scales: A transferable approach in the Ruhr Metropolitan Area, Germany

Developing green infrastructure (GI) has drawn increasing attention as a strategic planning approach for advancing urban sustainability. The connectivity of green spaces, a central principle of GI, has been considered in planning studies regarding its structure and functions for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services delivery; however, aspects of GI connectivity across temporal and spatial scales are rarely addressed. This paper aims to develop and apply a method for the GI connectivity analysis at multiple spatiotemporal scales. A transferable and multi-scale workable approach is presented to reveal the changes of structural and spatial heterogeneity of urban GI. Our method includes i) morphological spatial patterns analysis for central and green corridors recognition, ii) a graph-based quantification of GI connectivity based on the Conefor model, and iii) least-cost path analysis for identifying potential green corridors. We apply the GI connectivity analysis method in the Ruhr Metropolitan Area (RMA), one of Europe's largest agglomerations. We use spatial Urban Atlas data from 2006 to 2018. At the metropolitan scale, we find that GI connectivity in the RMA decreases 3.9% from 2006 to 2018, even though the general distributions of GI changes only slightly. With reference to the municipal scale from 2006 to 2018, four major types of GI connectivity changes were discovered in RMA's 15 cities, namely consistent decreasing, consistent increasing, increase followed by decrease, and vice-versa. Our findings provide new evidence on GI connectivity changes across a twelve-year difference and at metropolitan and municipal scales, as well as the identification of priority areas for increasing GI connectivity. It provides insights on the evolving and heterogenous nature of GI connectivity in support of decision-making for more sustainable metropolitan development for people and nature.

Inter- and Intra-Regional Disparities in Russia: Factors of Uneven Economic Growth

Despite the growing body of literature on the dependence of economic growth from different factors, the reasons for uneven growth remain unclear. Within the country, regions have different growth rates in their diverse parts. It is unclear why the same factor could influence municipalities differently. To reveal this reason, we used hierarchical linear modeling with spatial dependence, which allows us to decompose variation into regional and municipal scales and take into account spatial autocorrelation. We conducted our research on data for 2239 municipalities within 85 Russian regions in 2019. Our model incorporates 20 factors of economic growth, with 7 at the municipal scale. Cross-interaction estimates established that factors attributed to the regional level determined the relationship between dependent variables (growth rate of production, growth rate of social benefits, and taxable income) at the municipal level and predictors. The influence of initial level, investments in fixed assets, employment on municipal growth varies greatly depending on such regional determinants as economic structure, innovation, human capital, and inequality. This paper adds to the existing literature on uneven economic growth at a smaller scale (municipality) and at the same time helps to rethink inter- and intra-regional disparities.

Bridging research and dissemination in the CoViD-19 era: a WebGIS dashboard for the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy)

Abstract. The paper presents an ongoing project devoted to the study, the analysis and the representation of epidemiological data related to CoViD-19 spread in the territory of the Province of Trento (Italy), both for scientific and communication purposes. In this broader context, the construction of a digital cartography tool as a WebGIS to allow local communities understanding of epidemiological spread is presented. Data have been supplied by the local Provincial Health Authority; statistic have been processed in order to develop municipality scale vector polygonal coropleth and point maps in order to show affected, health and death rate distribution. A timeline allows the representation of changes and dynamics from Spring 2020 to the current date. The database provides “on-the-fly” data to the production scripts of maps and time charts. These scripts querying the database produce a geographic file in the geojson standard interchange format. This file is read by the javascript scripts based on the leaflet libraries for the production of the final maps. In a similar process, scripts based on the chart.js library produce the graph of the data temporal variation, automatically reading dates and interval time of analysis. A custom procedure was developed to allow the periodic update of the dataset. New information is added to the database by uploading an external spreadsheet. The study presents the methodology to develop and assess the WebGIS for managing, visualize and analyse Coronavirus diffusion. Future implementation of the WebGIS will expand the used data and allow the comparison with social and environmental factors.

Nitrogen flow and polluted nitrogen footprint accounting of rural systems at the municipal scale: The case of Shenyang

Understanding the process of nitrogen flow, emission, and utilization in rural systems is of great importance to reduce pollutant emissions caused by agricultural activities and to promote the sustainable utilization of nutrient resources. Based on the NUFER (nutrient flow in food chain, environment and resources use) model and nitrogen footprint approach, we proposed a nitrogen accounting framework for municipal-scale rural systems, and conducted a quantitative and time series-based comparative study on nitrogen flow, recycling, and footprint from the perspective of three subsystems, namely planting, animal husbandry, and rural human settlement in Shenyang from 1998 to 2018. The results showed that: 1) nitrogen utilization rates of the planting subsystem, animal husbandry subsystem, and rural human settlement subsystem were 36.1%, 59.7%, and 70.1%, respectively in 2018, with a growth rate of 15.9%, 9.1%, and 0.7% respectively compared to 1998; 2) The total polluted nitrogen footprint in Shenyang grew rapidly from 1998 to 2014, but declined from 2014 to 2018. In 2018, the total footprint of nitrogen pollution was 123.5 Gg, increasing by 21.6% compared with 1998; 3) In 2018, the unused nitrogen in the planting subsystem, animal husbandry subsystem, and rural human settlement subsystem were 129.5, 62.2, and 8.7 Gg, respectively, which were equivalent to 420.4, 202.1, and 8.7 Gg of nutrient resources from nitrogen fertilizer, respectively. In general, the nitrogen use efficiency of rural system increased gradually from the production end to the consumption end, but the temporal and spatial variation of nitrogen in rural systems need further studies.

Men and wolves: Anthropogenic causes are an important driver of wolf mortality in human-dominated landscapes in Italy

Over the last 40 years the gray wolf ( Canis lupus ) re-colonized its historical range in Italy increasing human-predator interactions. However, temporal and spatial trends in wolf mortality, including direct and indirect persecution, were never summarized. This study aims to fill this gap by focusing on the situation of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna regions, hosting a significant proportion of the Italian wolf population, by: ( i ) identifying the prevalent causes of wolf mortality, ( ii ) summarizing their temporal and spatial patterns and ( iii ) applying spatially-explicit Generalized Linear Models to predict wolf persecution. Between October 2005 and February 2021, 212 wolf carcasses were collected and subjected to necropsy, being involved in collisions with vehicles (n = 104), poisoned (n = 45), wounded with gunshot (n = 24) or blunt objects (n = 4) and being hanged (n = 2). The proportion of illegally killed wolves did not increase through time. Most persecution events occurred between October and February. None of our candidate models outperformed a null model and covariates such as the density of sheep farms, number of predations on livestock, or human density were never associated to the probability of having illegally killed wolves, at the municipal scale. Our findings show that conventional correlates of wolf persecution, combined with a supposedly high proportion of non-retrieved carcasses, fail to predict illegal wolf killings in areas where the species have become ubiquitous. The widespread spatial distribution of illegal killings indicates that persecution probably arises from multiple kinds of conflicts with humans, beyond those with husbandry. Wolf conservation in Italy should thus address cryptic wolf killings with multi-disciplinary approaches, such as shared national protocols, socio-ecological studies, the support of experts’ experience and effective sampling schemes for the detection of carcasses.

Small-scale analysis to rank municipalities requiring slow-moving landslide risk mitigation measures: the case study of the Calabria region (southern Italy)

This paper proposes a three-phase method that combines multi-source (i.e. topographic, thematic, monitoring) input data in a GIS environment to rank—at small (1:250,000) scale—administrative units (e.g. municipalities) based on their exposure to slow-moving landslide risk within a selected area (e.g. a region) and, accordingly, detect those primarily requiring mitigation measures. The method is applied in the Calabria region (southern Italy) where several municipalities are widely affected by slow-moving landslides that systematically cause damage to buildings and infrastructure networks resulting in significant economic losses. The results obtained are validated based on the information gathered from previous studies carried out at large (municipal) scale. The work undertaken represents a first, fundamental step of a wider circular approach that can profitably facilitate the decision makers in addressing the issue of the slow-moving landslide risk mitigation in a sustainable way.