Monumental trees and their existence value: the case study of an Italian natural park

The paper deals with the evaluation of the existence value of monumental trees in a protected area. Financial resources to be destined for protection interventions have been decreasing more and more, with a high risk of losing this natural heritage. A Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) survey was carried out among the Madonie Park (Sicily, Italy) resident households to evaluate the existence value of monumental trees of the nature trail named "Piano Sempria-Piano Pomo", represented by a population of "Giant hollies" and by 7 other individual trees. These are the main results of the CVM survey: the overall response rate was 40%, individual average WTPs ( Willingness To Pay ) were €12.37 for t…

THE SUCCESS FACTORS OF A SICILIAN MARKET-ORIENTED WINE COOPERATIVE

Wine cooperatives have a long tradition in Sicily, as well as in Italy and in Europe. The objective of this paper is to reconstruct the general framework of the Sicilian wine cooperatives that still account for nearly 80% of the regional wine grapes production. In this context we examine the productive, organizational and commercial strategies of a case study: Cantine Settesoli. Founded in Menfi (Western Sicily, Italy) in 1958 on the initiative of a group of wine grape-growers, the Cantine Settesoli has developed over the decades and now represents the major bottled wine cooperative in Sicily, whose 2,135 members own 5% of Sicilian vineyards. With its four wine-making plants, a volume of gr…

Monetary Valuations of Monumental Trees and Other Natural Resources between Demand for Conservation and Recent Requirements for Outdoor Activities: Some Case Studies in the Madonie and Nebrodi Regional Parks of Sicily

The focus of this paper is on the valuation of the benefits that local communities living in protected areas may perceive with regard to some specific natural resources, and in particular to Monumental Trees. The current economic crisis which involves countries at world level, leads to think that in the near future the financial resources to be destined for interventions in favour of these environmental goods will be more and more scarce, with the result that most monumental trees will not be protected and this natural heritage will be totally degraded and therefore lost to local communities. Three Sicilian case studies were investigated, two concerning the Madonie Regional Natural Park, an…

Development and management of winemaking sustainability: an explorative survey in Sicily

Sustainability is reshaping the global wine industry. This paper provides a fact-finding contribution to the knowledge on how the Sicilian winegrowing sector is facing the challenge of the new scenario of sustainable productions. To reach this goal we carried out an explorative analysis of those Sicilian wineries involved in 2 important sustainability programs in the Italian wine sector, Magis and SOStain, aimed at improve the implementation of sustainable viticulture and wine production. The results of our research concerning 5 wineries in Sicily reveal that adopting sustainable productive methods has lead in general to good technical and financial results by improving their business effic…

An integrated analysis of land market in an inland area of Sicily

In this study a land market analysis of the 22,000 hectares covered by Corleone town area for the 2007-2012 period was carried out. Data on 372 sales agreements concerning agricultural and building land were directly collected from notaries' offices. Over 50% of land sales concerned land areas below 0.50 hectares, whereas just 1% of the overall land sold was larger than 10 hectares. Nearly 75% of sample observations were represented by land sales smaller than 1 hectare. The average land area per purchase was just over 1 hectare. The overall money exchanged in the whole period amounted to nearly 6 million euro, with an average price per sale equal to 16,339.45 (sic), and an average unitary p…

Analysis of the interventions aimed to help land property reorganization in the rural territory of Sicily over the 2001-2009 period

Italian farming system has always been characterized by structural problems such as the small size of farms and the land property fragmentation. In order to remedy this pathological situation, ISMEA was commissioned to act as an intermediary between sellers and buyers and as an underwriter of compliance of the rules provided for by in force law. The objective of the present study is to analyse the effects of regulatory interventions aimed to help land property reorganization in Sicily - State Aid System no. 110/2001 and Community Tools - in order to reconstruct a general framework and to understand the actual extent and the respective effectiveness of these actions. On the whole 190 purchas…

Prezzo di mercato dei beni fondiari e fattori che lo determinano in un’analisi edonimetrica Gis-based: il caso studio di un’area rurale della Sicilia interna

‘Green’ Wine through a Responsible and Efficient Production: A Case Study of a Sustainable Sicilian Wine Producer

Abstract Sustainability is progressively gaining importance in the winegrowing sector. Implementing this concept implies environmental soundness, social equity and economic feasibility. A proliferation of initiatives to develop the sustainable production of wine started officially in Italy since the year 2010. The objective of this paper is to illustrate the reshaping of Sicilian winegrowing according to the ‘Triple bottom line’ approach to sustainability. By analyzing the case-study of the Tasca d’Almerita firm, pilot farm of various national projects in wine-sustainability, we found that adopting sustainable operative, organizational and competitive strategies has lead to a well-managed a…

Il premium-price associato al vino siciliano prodotto con uve biologiche: un'analisi attraverso l'approccio edonimetrico

In this paper, the implicit prices of some quality attributes concerning the Sicilian wines assessed in an Italian wine specialised Guide are estimated, and in particular the effect of the indication in the label of the certified organic wine on its price. The results obtained indicate that wine rating, wine type and denomination of origin, are the main market determinants of Sicilian wines, while the wine made from organic-certified grapes and other attributes are not significantly correlated with wine price.