Landslide Vulnerability Criteria: A Case Study from Umbria,Central Italy

Little is known about the vulnerability to landslides, despite landslides causing frequent and widespread damage to the population and the built-up environment in many areas of the world. Lack of information about vulnerability to landslides limits our ability to determine landslide risk. This paper provides information on the vulnerability of buildings and roads to landslides in Umbria, central Italy. Information on 103 landslides of the slide and slide-earth flow types that have resulted in damage to buildings and roads at 90 sites in Umbria is used to establish dependencies between the area of the landslide and the vulnerability to landslides. The dependencies obtained are applied in the hills surrounding the town of Collazzone, in central Umbria, an area for which a detailed landslide inventory map is available. By exploiting the landslide inventory and the established vulnerability curves, the geographical distribution of the vulnerability to landslides is mapped and statistics of the expected damage are calculated. Reliability and limits of the vulnerability thresholds and of the obtained vulnerability assessment are discussed.     

The AVI project: A bibliographical and archive inventory of landslides and floods in Italy

The AVI project was commissioned by the Minister of Civil Protection to the National Group for Prevention of Hydrogeologic Hazards to complete an inventory of areas historically affected by landslides and floods in Italy. More than 300 people, divided into 15 research teams and two support groups, worked for one year on the project. Twenty-two journals were systematically searched for the period 1918–1990, 350,000 newspaper issues were screened, and 39,953 articles were collected. About 150 experts on mass movement and floods were interviewed and 1482 published and unpublished technical and scientific reports were reviewed. The results of the AVI project, in spite of the limitations, represent the most comprehensive archiving of mass movement and floods ever prepared in Italy. The type and quality of the information collected and the methodologies and techniques used to make the inventory are discussed. Possible applications and future developments are also presented.     

Evaluation of Flood and Landslide Risk to the Population of Italy

We have compiled a database of floods and landslides that occurred in Italy between AD 1279 and 2002 and caused deaths, missing persons, injuries, and homelessness. Analysis of the database indicates that more than 50,593 people died, went missing, or were injured in 2580 flood and landslide events. Harmful events were inventoried in 26.3% of the 8103 Italian municipalities. Fatal events were most frequent in the Alpine regions of northern Italy and were caused by both floods and landslides. In southern Italy, landslides were the principal agents of fatalities and were most numerous in the Campania region. Casualties were most frequent in the autumn. Fast-moving landslides, including rock falls, rockslides, rock avalanches, and debris flows, caused the largest number of deaths. In order to assess the overall risk posed by these processes, we merged the historical catalogs and identified 2682 “hydrogeomorphological” events that triggered single or multiple landslides and floods. We estimated individual risk through the calculation of mortality rates for both floods and landslides and compared these rates to the death rates for other natural, medical, and human-induced hazards in Italy. We used the frequency distribution of events with fatalities to ascertain the magnitude and frequency of the societal risks posed by floods and landslides. We quantified these risks in a Bayesian model that describes the probabilities of fatal flood and landslide events in Italy.     

Comparing Landslide Maps: A Case Study in the Upper Tiber River Basin, Central Italy

/ The preparation of landslide maps is an important step in any landslide hazard assessment. Landslides maps are prepared around the world, but little effort is made to assess their reliability, outline their main characteristics, and pinpoint their limitations. In order to redress this imbalance, the results of a long-term research project in the Upper Tiber River basin in central Italy are used to compare reconnaissance and detailed landslide inventory maps, statistical and geomorphologically based density maps, and landslide hazard maps obtained by multivariate statistical modeling. An attempt is made to discuss advantages and limitations of the available maps, outlining possible applications for decision-makers, land developers, and environmental and civil defence agencies. The Tiber experiment has confirmed that landslides can be cost-effectively mapped by interpreting aerial photographs coupled with field surveys and that errors and uncertainties associated with the inventory can be quantified. The experiment has shown that GIS makes it easy to prepare landslide density maps and facilitates the production of statistically based landslide hazard models. The former supply an overview of the distribution of landslides that is easily comprehended but do not provide insight on the causes of instability. The latter, giving insight into the causes of instability, are diagnostically powerful, but are difficult to prepare and exploit.     

Reconciling Environmental and Flood Control Goals on an Arid-Zone River: Case Study of the Limitrophe Region of the Lower Colorado River in the United States and Mexico

Arid zone rivers have highly variable flow rates, and flood control projects are needed to protect adjacent property from flood damage. On the other hand, riparian corridors provide important wildlife habitat, especially for birds, and riparian vegetation is adapted to the natural variability in flows on these rivers. While environmental and flood control goals might appear to be at odds, we show that both goals can be accommodated in the Limitrophe Region (the shared border between the United States and Mexico) on the Lower Colorado River. In 1999, the International Boundary and Water Commission proposed a routine maintenance project to clear vegetation and create a pilot channel within the Limitrophe Region to improve flow capacity and delineate the border. In 2000, however, Minute 306 to the international water treaty was adopted, which calls for consideration of environmental effects of IBWC actions. We conducted vegetation and bird surveys within the Limitrophe and found that this river segment is unusually rich in native cottonwood and willow trees, marsh habitat, and resident and migratory birds compared to flow-regulated segments of river. A flood-frequency analysis showed that the existing levee system can easily contain a 100 year flood even if vegetation is not removed, and the existing braided channel system has greater carrying capacity than the proposed pilot channel.     

Agro-Ecological Analysis for the EU Water Framework Directive: An Applied Case Study for the River Contract of the Seveso Basin (Italy)

The innovative approach to the protection and management of water resources at the basin scale introduced by the European Union water framework directive (WFD) requires new scientific tools. WFD implementation also requires the participation of many stakeholders (administrators, farmers and citizens) with the aim of improving the quality of river waters and basin ecosystems through cooperative planning. This approach encompasses different issues, such as agro-ecology, land use planning and water management. This paper presents the results of a methodology suggested for implementing the WFD in the case of the Seveso river contract in Italy, one of the recent WFD applications. The Seveso basin in the Lombardy region has been one of the most rapidly urbanizing areas in Italy over the last 50?years. First, land use changes in the last 50?years are assessed with the use of historical aerial photos. Then, elements of an ecological network along the river corridor are outlined, and different scenarios for enhancing existing ecological connections are assessed using indicators from graph theory. These scenarios were discussed in technical workshops with involved stakeholders of the river contract. The results show a damaged rural landscape, where urbanization processes have decimated the system of linear green features (hedges/rows). Progressive reconnections of some of the identified network nodes may significantly increase the connectivity and circuitry of the study area.     

Identification of Quarries Rehabilitation Scenarios: A Case Study Within the Metropolitan Area of Bari (Italy)

This paper addresses quarries rehabilitation issue within a Metropolitan Area. Areas where mining activity is carried out have been subjected to physical and environmental degradation linked both to pursue the building materials extraction and to the city expansion continuously asking for new areas to be developed with residential and service functions. These changes also occurred where environmental and landscape values are present. It has been therefore pointed out the issue of such areas redevelopment that, to be functionally reintegrated, must be consistently linked to the activities and the territorial local contexts characteristics. In this paper the quarries reuse issue is carried out through parameters identification able to define the quarries relationship with the neighboring towns and with their surroundings besides to identify their physical, environmental and landscaping characteristics. Quarry reuse alternatives have been identified among those consistent with the rehabilitation goals, as defined by the planning sector and internationally approved, while their selection is derived from the application of a two-step methodology: a multi-criteria analysis related to punctual parameters at a "site-specific" level, followed by a further territorial indicators checking over the wide area. This application has led to socially accepted results identifying the examined quarries for reuses ranging from agricultural-forestry and urban to functional or naturalistic. The proposed method has also proved to be suitable to address the abandoned quarries reuse problem with a systemic and consultative approach, as it is able to correlate the many variables present in the social and spatial complexity of the Metropolitan Areas.     

Women's Awareness of and Attitudes Towards the Flood Action Plan (FAP) of Bangladesh: A Comparative Study

/ Bangladesh has recently tested a program called the Flood Action Plan (FAP) to solve its chronic flood problem. The FAP envisages that all the major rivers of Bangladesh will eventually be embanked on both sides in order to prevent flooding. This paper reports on the responses of rural women to the possible impacts of the proposed embankment projects as outlined in the FAP. A further attempt is also made to compare their responses with the results of an earlier survey conducted among male respondents. Data for this study were collected from two rural areas of Bangladesh. It shows that almost all respondents had heard about the proposed construction and that they overwhelmingly support the embankment project of the FAP. Respondents are also aware of both positive and negative impacts of embankment construction. Similar findings were also reported by a previous study dealing with male responses to the embankment project. KEY WORDS: Flood Action Plan; Bangladesh; Women     

Respect for Animal Autonomy in Bioethical Analysis: The Case of Automatic Milking Systems (AMS)

An analysis of the ethical impacts of the use of anAutomatic Milking System (AMS) is employed as a casestudy to illustrate the use of a form of bioethicalanalysis in technology assessment. The approach isbased on the Ethical Matrix, where `impacts' areassessed in terms of (lack of) respect for threeethical principles as applied to interest groups. Inthis case, only impacts on dairy cows are examined,and principally in terms of their behaviouralfreedom.In contrast to traditional milking systems, AMS, inprinciple, allow cows to present for milkingvoluntarily. So with AMS, it is claimed that dairymanagement relies on the autonomous interaction of thecow with her environment.One of the roles of bioethical analysis is to identifythe influence of rhetoric and symbolism in technologyassessment, e.g., with respect to the claimed`voluntariness' of cows' presentation. The AMS can beinstalled to allow cows three types of access, viz., i)free choice ii) rewarded access (RA) iii) obligatoryaccess (OA). Studies suggest the desire for milkremoval per se is not critical in the cow'sattendance at the AMS. Continued motivation to bemilked, required for the system to function,principally relies on RA and OA. Both RA and OA aresubject to numerous factors, such as: design of theAMS, location, etc. In turn, these can affect thecows' behavioural freedom and welfare.One of the aims of this approach is to illustrate theethical basis on which public policy is or can beformulated.     

Sustainability at the Local Scale: Defining Highly Aggregated Indices for Assessing Environmental Performance. The Province of Reggio Emilia (Italy) as a Case Study

In order to achieve improved sustainability, local authorities need to use tools that adequately describe and synthesize environmental information. This article illustrates a methodological approach that organizes a wide suite of environmental indicators into few aggregated indices, making use of correlation, principal component analysis, and fuzzy sets. Furthermore, a weighting system, which includes stakeholders’ priorities and ambitions, is applied. As a case study, the described methodology is applied to the Reggio Emilia Province in Italy, by considering environmental information from 45 municipalities. Principal component analysis is used to condense an initial set of 19 indicators into 6 fundamental dimensions that highlight patterns of environmental conditions at the provincial scale. These dimensions are further aggregated in two indices of environmental performance through fuzzy sets. The simple form of these indices makes them particularly suitable for public communication, as they condensate a wide set of heterogeneous indicators. The main outcomes of the analysis and the potential applications of the method are discussed.     

The life cycle of rice: LCA of alternative agri-food chain management systems in Vercelli (Italy)

The Vercelli rice district in northern Italy plays a key role in the agri-food industry in a country which accounts for more than 50% of the EU rice production and exports roughly 70%. However, although wealth and jobs are created, the sector is said to be responsible for environmental impacts that are increasingly being perceived as topical. As a complex and comprehensive environmental evaluation is necessary to understand and manage the environmental impact of the agri-food chain, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been applied to the rice production system: from the paddy field to the supermarket. The LCA has pointed out the magnitude of impact per kg of delivered white milled rice: a CO_2eq emission of 2.9 kg, a primary energy consumption of 17.8 MJ and the use of 4.9 m³ of water for irrigation purposes. Improvement scenarios have been analysed considering alternative rice farming and food processing methods, such as organic and upland farming, as well as parboiling. The research has shown that organic and upland farming have the potential to decrease the impact per unit of cultivated area. However, due to the lower grain yields, the environmental benefits per kg of the final products are greatly reduced in the case of upland rice production and almost cancelled for organic rice. LCA has proved to be an effective tool for understanding the eco-profile of Italian rice and should be used for transparent and credible communication between suppliers and their customers.     

Integrating methods for the environmental sustainability: the SPIn-Eco Project in the Province of Siena (Italy)

This paper shows how different methods can be integrated in order to provide an organic evaluation of the environmental sustainability at the territorial level. A territory is a complex, dynamic and open system where a population develops, uses resources, produces goods and services, consumes, depletes and finally obtains economic results. All these elements characterise human behaviour, which can be monitored, measured and compared to the capacity of the environment to sustain it in the long run. The SPIn-Eco Project for the Province of Siena (Italy) is described as an example of an environmental sustainability assessment of an area, and its methods (Ecological Footprint, Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Extended Exergy Analysis, Emergy Evaluation, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Remote Sensing) are briefly introduced. This Project has been proposed and funded by the most important provincial administrative and financial institutions in the territory (the Administration of the Province of Siena and the Monte dei Paschi Foundation, respectively), and was designed and realised in 4 years (2001-2004) by a research team coordinated by the University of Siena.     

Environmental management policy in a coastal tourism municipality: the case study of Cervia (Italy)

The sustainability concept applied to human activities implies the need to harmonise the protection of environment with a satisfactory economic and social development. This is particularly true for tourism development: a misuse of the natural resources can cause a degradation of the tourist appeal of the destination, bringing it finally to its economic decline. This problem is particularly important in coastal tourism destinations. The implementation of an environmental management system is a powerful way for progressing towards better environmental performances. In this paper, the main results obtained in applying the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme procedure to the municipality of Cervia, a well-known tourist destination located on the Adriatic coast of Italy are described. This research puts into evidence that the main environmental pressures in the summer season are related to the supply of potable water, the production of solid wastes and wastewater air pollution and noise, etc. However, if correctly planned and managed, tourism can also contribute to environmental protection, to the conservation of biodiversity and to a sustainable use of natural resources.     

Ecological footprint analysis applied to a sub-national area: the case of the Province of Siena (Italy)

This work is part of a larger project, which aims at investigating the environmental sustainability of the Province of Siena and of its communes, by means of different indicators and methods of analysis. The research presented in this article uses ecological footprint and biocapacity as indicators to monitor the environmental conditions of the area of Siena, thus complementing previous studies carried out using Emergy, greenhouse gases balance and other methods. The calculations have been performed in such a way as to enable a disaggregation of the final results according to the classical categories of ecologically productive land and of consumption, but also according to citizen's and public administration's areas of influence. This information allows us to investigate in detail the socio-economic aspects of environmental resource use. Among the notable results, the Siena territory is characterized by a nearly breakeven total ecological balance, a result contrasting with the national average and most of the other Italian provinces. Furthermore, the analysis has been carried out at different spatial scales (province, districts and communes), highlighting an inhomogeneous territorial structure consisting of subareas in ecological deficit compensated by zones in ecological surplus.     

Assessment of the Enabling Rural Innovation (ERI) approach: Case studies from Malawi and Uganda

This paper presents lessons from applying an innovative action research approach for linking smallholder farmers to markets, in eastern and southern Africa. The Enabling Rural Innovation (ERI) approach aims to strengthen social organization and entrepreneurial capacity in rural communities. It focuses on fostering community‐based capacity for the inclusion of rural women and the poor in analyzing and accessing market opportunities. Using case studies from Malawi and Uganda the paper assesses the outcomes of ERI on rural communities with a focus on human capital, gender issues and investment in natural resource management. Results show that households are benefiting significantly from linkages to markets in terms of increasing household incomes, and accumulating assets. Skills in analyzing markets and in negotiating with traders have increased among smallholder farmers. The integration of gender in the approach has led to changes in gender decision making patterns at household and community level towards a more shared decision‐making process. The results however show a difference in skills between men and women, with women showing lower levels of skills acquisition. Farmer participatory research has increased investments in improved technologies such as fertilizer applications for soil fertility management.     

Multi-level network governance of disaster risks: the case of the Metropolitan Region of the Aburra Valley (Medellin,Colombia)

Cities have increasingly been confronted with disasters, ranging from earthquakes and storms to floods and landslides. Traditional technocratic top-down approaches have proved inadequate to face disaster risks in urban agglomerations. Thus, expectations have risen that through multi-level governance, metropolitan regions could become more resilient by joining forces across scales and sectors, enabling them to implement adaptation strategies collectively. Under the leadership of the city of Medellin and integrated within the national risk governance system of Colombia, such a governance arrangement has been established in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburra Valley. Applying social network analysis, this paper analyses the institutional relationships within the multi-level risk governance network Red Riesgos. It demonstrates that the effectiveness of multi-level disaster risk governance networks depends primarily on the protagonist role of local governments and on their abilities to involve local communities and citizens and to interact constantly with higher-level authorities in the implementation process.     

Vegetation Cover and Long-Term Conservation of Radioactive Waste Packages: The Case Study of the CSM Waste Disposal Facility (Manche District,France)

The CSM is the first French waste disposal facility for radioactive waste. Waste material is buried several meters deep and protected by a multi-layer cover, and equipped with a drainage system. On the surface, the plant cover is a grassland vegetation type. A scientific assessment has been carried out by the Géophen laboratory, University of Caen, in order to better characterize the plant cover (ecological groups and associated soils) and to observe its medium and long term evolution. Field assessments made on 10 plots were complemented by laboratory analyses carried out over a period of 1 year. The results indicate scenarios and alternative solutions which could arise, in order to passively ensure the long-term safety of the waste disposal system. Several proposals for a blanket solution are currently being studied and discussed, under the auspices of international research institutions in order to determine the most appropriate materials for the storage conditions. One proposal is an increased thickness of these materials associated with a geotechnical barrier since it is well adapted to the forest plants which are likely to colonize the site. The current experiments that are carried out will allow to select the best option and could provide feedback for other waste disposal facility sites already being operated in France (CSFMA waste disposal facility, Aube district) or in other countries.