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Forest policy in Italy is organized and regulated on the basis of the existing administrative and constitutional structures following the constitutional modifications, which in the 1970s transferred most of the legislative power in the forest sector to the regional level.

Currently, the national level administration is responsible for drafting the general guidelines and general policy frameworks for regional legislation. For example, the actual strategic objectives of the national forest policy are based on the legislative decree no. 227/2001 "Orientation and modernization of the forest sector". At a regional level, Basilicata and other administrations are usually directly involved in the drafting and implementation of specific regional laws. The local administrative level is represented by the municipalities, which are responsible for direct implementation. They act as public owners of forest resources (in Italy, the municipalities own most of the public forest property) and are thus responsible for the management of forest resources, primarily through the implementation of Forest Management Plans.

Policies, measures and instruments, results and impacts

Source: Authors

Forest policy regulation

At the national level, forest policy is regulated by:

• Constitutional Law no. 281/1970 which transferred legislative power to regions with the objective of understanding territorial sensibilities and more effectively control the use of environmental resources. Decree no. 11/1972, transferred property and management of state public forests to the regions, with the exception of forests with special functions (e.g. some natural reserves, coastal forests, seed forests, etc.).

• Royal Decree (R.D. 30/12/1923 no. 3267) on: “Legislative reorganization and reform in matters of mountain forest and lands” is still in effect for all matters that have not been updated by regional laws. According to this Decree, the aim of the forest policy was primarily to address general issues such as soil erosion, forest production, forest hydrological protection, quality of forest cover and a reduction of forest fragmentation. The law also acknowledges the overall goal of the forest policy to protect soil and water, through the implementation of hydro-geological restriction(s) for areas that were likely to be denuded or to lose their water balance. In addition to its overarching goal, the Royal Decree introduces the following objectives:

• to acknowledge the role of forests to protect soil and water;
• to implement active protection measures such as reforestation, the development of controlled grazing and proper management of reforested areas by landowners;
• to better manage forest and mountain territories by drafting and adopting Forest Management Plans (mandatory for public forests) and by drafting of Forestry Regulations and general address for Forest Police activities at the province level (Prescrizioni di Massima e di Polizia Forestale, PMPF);
• to reduce hydro-geological risks by defining the restrictions that strongly affect the management of forests and the management of mountainous areas, in general.

Other relevant laws of interest for the forest policy at the national level cover mountain areas (Laws no. 991/1952 and no. 97/94), “Funds for agriculture and forest sector” (EU Council Regulation no. 2080/1992) and forest fires (Law no. 353/2000),

Decree no. 227/2001  “Orientation and modernization of the forest sector” provides a new general framework for actions to be implemented primarily at the local level by regions. It gives the regions the task of establishing guidelines for the protection, conservation and development of forestry through the drafting and revision of Regional Forest Plans. It also provides, intera alia, several rules which are important for reducing the risk of desertification in forest lands, such as prohibitions to convert forests to other land useswithout compensatory afforestation and restoration of forests where there is a serious degradation process. The Financial Law for 2008 (Law no. 296/2007) establishes a “Framework Programme for the Forest Sector” which is coordinated by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies and the Ministry for Environment, Territory and Sea. The FPFS identifies four priorities within a ten-year period (2009-2019):

• land and environmental protection via an enhanced protective function of forests;
• maximization of their potential for carbon fixation;
• preservation of the integrity and health of forest ecosystems;
• conservation and improvement of biological and landscape diversity.

At the regional level, the forest sector in the Basilicata Region is regulated by Regional Law no. 42 of 30 November 1998 "Regulations on the forests" (and its subsequent implementing regulations) with the aims:

• to develop the territory, the environment and agro-forestry resources and pastoral ecosystems;
• to implement rational forest management to ensure the maintenance and improvement of the ecological balance and the optimal completionof the productive, landscape, tourist and recreational functions of forests;
• to prevent hydrological regime disorder;
• to protect the natural environment;
• to restore the balance of nature on marginal lands;
• to protect forests and woodlands;
• to create works for the enhancement of public green areas;
• to optimize employment levels in the forest sector t
• o promote the drafting of the Regional Forest Map and Regional Forest Inventory.

Other relevant laws of interest for forest policy at the regional level are:

• Regional Law no. 13/2005 ‘Regulations for the prevention of forest fires’.
• Deliberation of the Regional Council no. 613/2008 ‘Guidelines for the preparation and implementation of forest management plans’ (mandatory).
• Deliberation of The Regional Council no. 956/2000 "Forest Cutting Practices Regulation" (mandatory).
• Regional Law no. 21/2000 for the institution of the Ecologic Voluntary Guards.

At the municipality level, the transfer of competencies from the national to regional level did not change any of the duties regarding the management of forest resources as a public owner, with the exception that the new legislation and the adoption of measures and regulations derived directly from regional forest policy. In particular, the local forest sector is regulated by the Forest Management Plans, which are mandatory for public administrations.

Main actors involved in forest policy

At a national level the main actors involved in the forest policy are the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies and the Ministry for Environment, Territory and Sea. The Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies is responsible for drafting the strategic objectives for forest policy through the activities of the Department of European and International Policy and the Department of the Competitive Policies of the Rural World and of the Quality. The Ministry for Environment, Territory and Sea is responsible for environment, ecosystems, pollution, protection of marine resources, environmental impact assessment (EIA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) the integrated environmental authorization (IPPC) and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol (National Register of Carbon Sinks). The Ministry of Environment contributes to forest policy through the activities of the General Secretariat for the Protection of Land and Water Resources.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance is the executive body responsible for economic, financial and budget policy, planning of public investments, coordination of public expenditure and verification as well as for revenue policies and the taxation system.
The State Forestry Corps (CFS) is an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry which acts as a territorial force with policing functions for the protection of natural and environmental resources. The CFS is also responsible for the protection of the countryside, rural and natural ecosystems, national parks and national forests. Before the transfer of the competences between the state and its respective regions, CFS was responsible for the control of forest resources through forest policy activities and was also involved in the drafting and implementation of Forest Management Plans. Its competence has shifted towards controlling the implementation and management of forest policies and forest policing.

Other policy actors are the research institutions such as Universities, the Italian National Research Council, the Agricultural Research Council, the National Institute of Agricultural Economics, and the non-governmental organizations such as the World Wildlife Foundation or Legambiente, etc.

At the the regional level in Basilicata the main policy actors are: 

• Basilicata Regional Council - approves regional laws proposed by Councillors or by the Regional Council.
• Basilicata Regional Administration (Department of Environment and Territory) - involved (in some cases with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Areas Development and the Department of Infrastructures, Public works and Mobility) in the management and protection of environmental resources, water conservation and desertification issues in general and in all forest activities.
• The State Forestry Corps (CFS) - acts as forest police and is active in prevention, and fighting against wildfires with the Regional Department of Civil Protection
• The National Fire fighter Corps - supports the CFS in fighting wildfires occurring in the wild land/urban interface.
• The intermediate level administrations such as provinces and mountain communities, basin authorities, the Fund for the Development of Southern Italy (CASMEZ) and the Land Reclamation Syndicate represent an interface between regional and municipal administrations. They are responsible for the local implementation of the Forestry Regulations and forest policing activities, annual and triennial forest plans, fire prevention plans, evaluating annual forest cutting requests and the management and direction of forest activities.
• Municipality administrations - involved with Regional Administration in the drafting of Forest Management Plans, Forest Fire Prevention Plans and Civil Protection Municipality Plans.
• University institution, the National Institute of Agricultural Economics and other research institutions – serve as consultants for the regional administration. In particular, they contribute technical support to the commissions of the Regional Department of Environment for the approval of the Forest Management Plans.
• Local and regional level agencies such as the ARPAB (Regional Agency for Environmental Protection), the ARBEA (Regional Agency for the Funds Provision in Agriculture Sector), the APEA (Province Agency for the Energy and Environment), Basilicata Basin Authority and ALSIA (Regional Agency for the Innovation and Development of Agriculture) Irrigation Development Body.
• Private land owners with a forest extension greater than 100 ha are eligible for the implementation of the Forest Management Plan.
• Forest workers - employed for the implementation of the Triennial Forest Plan and Fire Protection Plan.
• Environmental non-governmental organizations such as the WWF or Legambiente Italia - usually act as advisors for environmental issues such as for biodiversity conservation in the regional commissions or as a pressure group, which reports and complains about any activities related to the overexploitation and mismanagement of natural resources.
• The Voluntary Ecological Guards established by Regional Law no. 21/2000, that are involved supporting the State Forestry Corps activities.

At the local level, the municipalities serve as forest owners and are thereby are directly responsible for forest management via the implementation of Forest Management Plans. Local administrations are also responsible for the implementation of regulations of the pastoral activities and in general for the use of the forest resources on public property by local communities. The municipal activities also relate to the use of wood and non-wood products and services provided by forest resources (e.g. cutting, environmental protection, touristic use, grazing, etc.). For example, the main local legislation addressing LEDD issues in the Gorgoglione Municipality regards the:  a) Forest Management Plan; b) the rules on the pasture rights, harvesting tree rights and arable land rights; c) permission to start quarrying.

Main policy instruments and procedures relating to the organization of the forest sector

At the national level, the main policy instruments and procedures related to the general organization of the forest sector are mainly represented by the Constitutional Law and  the “Environmental Code” (Decree no. 152/2006), which establishes Environmental Regulations to merge the former environmental legislative items.

At a regional level, the policy instruments are the annual and triennial Forest Plans, the Forest Management Plans and the Forest Cutting Requests (the latter follow different procedures depending on the extent of silviculture practices).

At the municipality level, the main instruments of forest policies are a) the Forest Management Plans that, after the approval by Regional Administration, have the same effect as a law and whose provisions are mandatory, b) the common use rules  that gives the following rights to all citizens who have permanent residence in the territory: pasture, tree harvesting and arable land rights. All of these rights shall be exercised upon payment of a fee and commensurate to the needs of the family.

Implementation, impacts, effectiveness of forest policy

The transfer of competencies and responsibilities for the forest sector among different levels of administration has been a long process which has, in the Matera study site, lasted for around three decades. Currently, the administrative assets and relation between the national and regional levels in terms of environmental policies has been completely cleared and defined, leaving the national level to coordinate the policies and the regional level with all direct legislative competencies.

Regarding the main policy instrument for the forest sector (RD 3267/1923 and following laws for the national level and RL 42/1998 and following laws for the regional level), it can be emphasized that the first has been drawn up at the national level with the involvement of the main the implementation actors, such as the local government bodies (Municipalities and Prefectures) and the State Forestry Corps (SFC) (for the Matera study site). In this ambit, the SFC was commissioned to develop and implement the Hydro-geological Risk Maps for each municipality and the Forestry Regulations at the prefecture level. These documents contain all of the measures and regulations for forest harvesting and managing in forest areas and/or under hydro-geological restrictions. They also define practices to adopt for woods, shrubs, cultivated areas in order to prevent landslides, soil erosion and degradation and to ultimately improve the environment and forest lands. Specific measures include, inter alia, timing of cut for coppices and high forests; regulations of cut for coppice and high forests; minimum rotation age for different coppice types; minimum rotation age for different high forests types; cutting types; administrative fulfilments.

At the regional level, the regional administration has the responsibility to develop and implement the measures proposed in the different regional laws through triennial/annual Forest Plans (currently formulated for 10 years), which further integrate and specify the different areas of intervention. The regional administration also has the responsibility to develop and implement the triennial Plan for Forest Fires whose main areas of implementation relate to fire risk prevention and to the identification and recovery of burned areas. Other implemented activities are the guidelines for the preparation and implementation of forest management plans, the regulation for the cutting of forests, the regulation for grazing on public land and, recently, the local yield tables for regional forest planning and management.

The administrative responsibility for the implementation of the forestry regulations is given to the municipalities and, in part, the prefecture authorities; previously this also included the mountain communities. These regulations also provide rules for forest harvestings in small private areas (which have different rules), while public forests require the implementation of a Forest Management Plan (usually drawn up by the municipality) for the management and utilization of forest resources and areas.

The presence of regional territory experts (many of whom have a PhD) in forestry has increased the quality of the forest planning activities. Specifically, the establishment of Basilicata University in 1982 with specific courses in Forest and in Soil sciences provided high levels of specialists, both for forest planning activities and for administrative public offices and departments in the Basilicata region, provinces, municipalities, etc. This addressed a strong need, as these kinds of specialization were almost totally absent in previous decades, resulting in a lack of understanding of the importance of correctly managing forest areas.

The transferral of most of the administrative functions from the state to individual regions has resulted in several different impacts on the forest sector. The regional administrations were not initially prepared to deal with the increased responsibilities and activities connected with the forest sector. The lack of administrative organization, low level of specific know how, lack of forest experts and regional laws and rules negatively characterized the implementation of this change in competencies. The transition lasted several years, even decades. The result was a reduction in administrative planning, support and control of forest activities and consequently negative impacts on the forests and on environment management (institutional impact).

However, the recent enactment of modern Regional forest laws and regulations, has greatly improved the implementation of forest control and management instruments. By implementing the main instruments (i.e. the Hydro-geological Risk Map, the Forestry Regulations and Forestry Police Activities, the Forest Management Plans, etc.), the structural, functional and management conditions of the forests (which were heavily compromised in previous decades) have been improved during the past few years. The hydro-geological capabilities of the forest mountain areas has also been improved, leading to a reduction in landslides, soil erosion and flood risks from rivers (environmental impact).

According to the recent Regional Forest Inventory provided by the Basilicata Region Forest Map, the increment of forest cover between 1984 and 2010 is about 20%. This forest cover increment reflects the general improvement of biodiversity and environmental conditions.

A key tool provided by these policies was the Forest Management Plan (FMP) for the management of forest resources owned by the municipalities defining the sustainable use of forest resources.

At the regional level, the implementation of regional forest laws positively impacted the regional forest resources through the:

• improvement of the forest structural conditions and therefore of the efficiency in terms of forest productivity and ecophysiological conditions;
• improvement of hydro-geological conditions with projects for reforestation and environmental protection that have significantly improved hydrological and soil conditions;
• reduction of forest fragmentation and the increase of the biodiversity; regional laws have a particular focus to preserve the accompanying species of the main stands which were previously continuously removed during thinning and to preserve the overstory trees with cultural and ecological value (mainly old growth);
• reforestation activities and the prohibition of intervention on forest stands that may represent ecological corridors for animal species which have led to a reduction of fragmentation;
• development of forest sector trough the implementation of FMPs that increased both planning activities and forest utilization with an employment increase;
• improvement of the administrative structure with the setting up of specific and highly qualified units and administrative rules to support these activities;
• drafting of Basilicata Region Forest Map;
• setting up Nature 2000 Network Conservation Measures and Management Plans.

The complete transfer of competence to the regions resulted in increased efficiency of the forest policies, and greatly improved policy effectiveness at the institutional level. Administrative structures were reorganised in order to reduce bureaucratic processes, and the regional administration cooperate with the university for the drafting of regional laws and the evaluation of Forest Management Plans.

Royal Decree no. 3267/1923 establishing the State Forestry Corps has also been very effective. The SCF became the main referral institution for all forest-related activities until the transferral of these competencies to the respective regions. The Decree also allowed the drafting of the Hydro-geological Restriction Maps and the Italian Forestry Regulations and Forestry Police Activities (PMPF), still holding great importance in forest management. In other respects, however, it proved weak. The application of the Forest Management Plans due to costs and poorly defined rules resulted low initial interest. Additionally, Hydro-geological Risk Maps defining areas subject to special management rules did not include crucial forest types, such as the degraded scrub (Mediterranean macchia), leading to unsustainable clearing for crops or grazing.

At the Basilicata regional level, the implementation of the Forest Management Plans made possible by the regional policies (R.L. no. 42/1998 and subsequent) represents one of the most important results in term of environmental effectiveness of the forest policies. This is particularly noteworthy considering that in the past, the implementation of Forest Management Plans has been practically unattended in many Italian region including the Matera study site due to difficulties in raising funds and, probably, the lack of technical skills for their drafting and implementation.

The new evaluation and approval procedures of forest plans betted up by the law and the provided system of funding represent the key factors for forest policy implementation. The administrative procedure leading from the drafting of forest plans to their application has proven to be very efficient and fast as compared to the past decades.

Weaknesses in forest management plans implementation persist, particularly with regard to market demand. The low market price of forest products (such as fuel wood) represents a limit for the harvesting companies that do not participate in the public calls for the assignment of forest cuts, thereby resulting in lacking incomes for forest owners, reduced employment opportunities and a mismanagement of forest resources.

With regard to the goals of the Basilicata Region forest policies (i.e. increasing of the sustainability and quality of forest management), the adoption of Forest Management Plans has produced positive effects on the structural condition of the forests, including conservation of biodiversity and reduced landscape fragmentation

At the ecosystem level, the forest policy is expected to positively impact the main LEDD issues in the long-term by reducing soil deterioration via a reduction of soil erosion and desertification risks, reducing the hydrological risk through the reforestation implemented by mountain communities at the basin scale. Also, the pastoral areas regulated by the Forest Management Plans and by specific plans showed an improvement. Forest grazing is regulated on the basis of the quantity and type of animals and grazing intensity, taking into account the actual animal load per hectare.

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Italian national and regional rural development policies in the last decades have been closely related to the European Union CAP and Rural Development Policies. Policy can be divided into periods according to the different CAP reforms, ranging from the early years to the reform of 1992 and up to Agenda 2000 and the 2003-2004 reform. The last reform, focused on rural development, introduced a financial instrument, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), which has been established by Council Regulation (EC) no. 1698/2005 for the period from 2007 to 2013.

According to the Italian administrative structure, each region is responsible for the implementation of the EU’s rural development policy through the Rural Development Programmes (PSR) under the coordination at a national level by the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Forestry Policy (MIPAAF), which is responsible for the drafting of a National Strategy Plan. Other national laws complement the Strategy including development and improvement of the agri-food chains and networks, the National Irrigation Plan, standards for agricultural scientific research etc.

The objectives of the RDP coincide with those of the NSP (National Strategic Plan) covering: competitiveness of agriculture and forestry; environment preservation; diversification of agricultural activities and improvement of the quality of life in rural areas; improvement of skills and knowledge. The priorities of the National Strategy Plan for Rural Development (2007-2013) are:

1. Preservation of biodiversity
2. Qualitative and quantitative protection of surface and sub-surface water resources
3. Reduction of greenhouse gases
4. Territory Conservation

The main actors for rural development policy implementation are represented by the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Forestry Policy (MIPAAF) at a national level and by the Regional Administration at a local level, playing a key role in the implementation of the development programmes (PSR). In particular, the MIPAAF is responsible for drawing up the National Strategy Plan (PSN) for the period 2007-2013, defining the strategic guidelines within the Community Strategies. Other national level actors are the National Institute of Agricultural Economics (INEA), the Institute of Services for the Agro-Food Markets (ISMEA) and the National Information System (SIN) for drafting and monitoring PSN and of National Rural Network (NRN).

The other main actor at the regional level is represented by the Regional Administration, which is in charge of the implementation of the Rural Development Plan. The implementation process involves a series of other actors at the regional, national and European levels represented by all the members of the surveillance committee, including the EAFRD Management Authority, the MIPAAF, the ARBEA (Regional Agency For The Funds Provision In Agriculture Sector), Ministry of Economy and Finances, the ARPAB (Basilicata Region Agency for the Environment Protection), municipality administration, province administration and NGO organizations as the representatives of all of the productive categories in the agriculture sector, representatives of protected areas and environmental associations.

At the national level, an important role is also played by the Union of Farmers and the National Association of Reclamation, Irrigation and Land Improvement (ANBI), representing the interests of their members to the high level institutions (i.e. the Ministry of Agriculture). The main instrument for implementing rural development policy at the regional level is represented by the Rural Development Plan (PSR). In the context of the PSN, the National Rural Network within the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) facilitating interaction and exchange of expertise between the stakeholders, institutions and those working and living in rural areas is also important.

To improve the quality and the effectiveness of the rural development policy the PSR are evaluated during the implementation path (ex ante, mid-term and ex post).

Main policy instruments related to Agricultural/Rural development

Source: Authors

Implementation, impacts, effectiveness

Rural development policy has been widely applied in the Basilicata region, and thus also in the Matera SES. The basic needs in the rural areas of the Matera SES are generally related to maintaining the population in rural areas and thereby reducing depopulation. From this perspective, rural development policy has mainly addressed the improvement of generation renewal.

Following the implementation of the PSR, the impacts of rural development policy at the Matera SES have been related to several sectors. Starting with regional level interventions, the main impacts relate to the SES through the implementation of measures addressing agricultural issues, such as farm modernization and innovation, improvement of physical and information technology infrastructures, promotion of knowledge and best practices and improvement of the quality of agricultural productions. Other measures addressed that impacted the Matera SES are the support provided for diversification into non-agricultural activities, the development of local micro-enterprises and activities related to rural tourism and the advisory services for farms and forestry.

Other policy impacts relate to the regional environmental system and thus to the Matera study site through the implementation of measures related to the conservation, protection and safeguarding of the rural territory, conservation of biodiversity, reduction of greenhouse gases and protection of water resources. These measures have impacted the territory through the funding provided for the implementation of measures, such as the drafting of Natura 2000 site management plans, the Triennial Forestry Plan including the funding of Forest Management Plans, forest activities, Triennial Fire Protection Plan and land desertification protection actions. These measures contributed to improved environmental conditions, increased forest distribution and productivity, biodiversity conservation and soil protection. These measures also impacted the economic and social systems through the employment of professionals and workers in the environmental sector and in particular in forestry.

A negative impact related to the implementation of the CAP policies during the 1990s in Italy regards the availability of funding for cereal productions (especially durum wheat subsidies). This policy produced an increase of cultivated areas that included low productive marginal areas usually covered by shrubs along very steep slopes, leading to environmental degradation from soil erosion and soil stability decrease.

From an environmental perspective, the policy has been effectively implemented with concrete environmental improvements occurring due to the implementation of Forest Triennial Plans, Forest Management Plans and the Triennial Fire Protection Plan. The implementation of the Natura 2000 site Management Plans represent a crucial action towards the improvement of biodiversity and, more generally, of environmental protection. The effectiveness of these measures can also be evaluated by looking at the impact of the policy on the employment of local workers in the forest sector and the subsequent reduction in land abandonment.

From an economic point of view, the efforts of the rural development policy for the agriculture sector have been partially limited by the international economic crisis taking place in the last few years. The possibilities offered by the financial instruments of the PSR for young farmers to develop and improve their activities have been reduced as a result of increasing costs of production and distribution due to increased energy costs and reduced product demand. However, the rural development policy positively affected the social sector through a generalized improvement of knowledge, valorisation of cultural and rural heritage of local communities and reduction of land abandonment.

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Tourism in Italy represents a key sector involving social, economic and environmental aspects. Besides the strategic role of tourism for the Italian economy, the related policies are relatively recent and have been fully developed in the last two decades. Though tourism is not mentioned in the Italian Constitution, it involves so many sectors at all levels of the national administration that the national administration has implemented administrative structures and agencies, such as the ENIT (national agency for tourism).

The national legal framework for tourism is represented by Law no. 135/2001 for development and promotion in Italy. This law establishes the Central State as the authority to supervise tourism policy and promotion and at the same time empowers the Italian regions ruling and administrating the tourism sector according to the administrative structure of the national administration.

Tourism policies is also regulated by Regional Laws defining Tourism Local Systems, drawing guidelines for the promotion and development of the sector and defining the roles of regional and local administrations, regional agencies and local associations.  Other laws relate to accommodation services and hotels, rural tourism, the Regional Tourism Observatory, tourism professions and quality branding for the tourism accommodation services.

At national level, the main objective is the development of strategies to overcome existing disparities between regions in the tourism sector through the planning of tourism development in accordance with national economic programmes and the principles of the European Union funds. Another important objective is the promotion of Italian tourism abroad and the development and financing of local tourism systems. At the national level, the Government is the main actor in implementing tourism policy, represented by the Department for Development and Competitiveness of Tourism of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The main activities are supervising tourism policy and promotion, promoting co-operation and harmonization in local tourism development policies between regions and generally supporting the regions in terms of: programming and developing tourism activities at regional and local levels; promoting strategic marketing activities; managing European Structural Funds; performing tasks related to the regional tourism structures; performing tasks related to enterprises and tourism professions.

Agri-tourism laws were first introduced in Italy in 1983. According to the the legal framework "agri-tourism activities are defined as individual farmers or partnerships and associations of farmers with shared capital, offering third parties restaurant services and/or temporary lodgings which are directly connected with the farm’s activities in the agricultural, forestry or animal husbandry sector.". Regional laws which impose strict criteria and limitations on agri-tourism activities in the territory.

Farmers, farming family members and/or other farm employees with part-time or full-time work contracts may be employed in agri-tourism enterprises on the provision that contracts are made under the mansion of ‘agricultural worker’ and are stipulated under the same fiscal code, insurance and benefits regime as the law provides for this mansion. External workers are permitted exclusively for mansions involving complementary services or activities.

Agri-tourism activities can be carried out exclusively in pre-existing farm buildings which are of no longer use to the activities of farming. Funding is provided via the Italian regions under the European Union’s Rural Development Funds.

Implementation, impacts, effectiveness of tourism policy (Matera)

At the regional level, tourism policy is considered a key factor in the development of regional SES; in particular, regional environmental characteristics and rural cultural heritage are considered as main tourism attractions. Thus, the goals of regional tourism policy are related to the sustainable development of the regional SESs with the objective of introducing a feedback effect between socio-economic development, environment conservation, and tourism goods and services.

The main actor is the regional administration which drafts tourism policies and contributes to policy implementation through the tourism office of the Department of Productive Activities. Other actors involved in policy implementation are Provinces, Municipalities, the Regional Agency for Tourism Promotion (APT), Tourism Information and Assistance offices (IAT) managed by the municipalities and Local associations (Pro-Loco) which play a role in the promotion of activities according to general agreements with municipalities and APT.

The main instrument in the implementation of tourism policy is the implementation of the Triennial Tourism Regional Plan that addresses the development of the regional tourism sector and regulates the distribution of financial resources. In particular, the Triennial Tourism Regional Plan addresses issues such as the analysis of the current situation and trends of the tourism system; the identification of the priorities for the tourism sector to be developed according to market trends; the definition of promotion strategies; etc.

Tourism policies have been largely implemented in the Basilicata Region. Thanks to the territorial organization under Tourism Local Systems, tourism policy has been applied to all of the territorial entities including the Matera SES. The presence in the Matera study site of cultural, historical and environmental tourism attractors contributed to additional attention being paid to the implementation of tourism policies by the regional administration. Particular emphasis is given to “Sassi” of the Matera historic town (UNESCO World Heritage site) and the promotion of farm stay tourism.

Historical and cultural tourism has been developed in the last two decades, starting in 1993 with the inscription of the “Sassi” of Matera historic centre in the UNESCO World Heritage list. This provided a large number of tourists who were also interested in the environmental attractions in the area. The most important environmental attraction is represented by the regional nature park of “Murgia Materana” in the territory of the Gravina gorges.

The positive impact of environmental and cultural tourism policy is seen also in the distribution of farm stays throughou the municiplaities of the study site.

A negative unplanned aspect of the tourism activities is the increase of pressure on the coastal environment due to the increase in unmanaged urbanization (salinization, soil sealing, coastal erosion, trampling, sand dunes continuity disruption etc.).

The effectiveness of the actual cultural and environmental tourism policy at the Matera SES is illustrated by the presence of tourism accommodations and services distributed in the rural areas. As reported by the Regional Agency for Tourism Promotion (APT), the 70 farm stays in the Matera study site represent 24% of the total tourist accommodation structures in the region (hotels, B&B, camping, etc.). The possibility for farmers to expand their businesses to tourism accommodation and services represented a key policy to help farmers in the promotion and direct sale of their products and thereby contributed to a reduction in land abandonment. From an environmental point of view, farm stays also contribute to the environmental sustainability of agriculture through organic farming. Finally, farm stays also play a key role in the conservation of social and cultural traditions via the promotion of typical products and traditional activities.

Main policy instruments related to tourism (Matera SES)

Source: Authors

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The perspective of nature and environmental policies changed dramatically with Constitutional Law 3/2001 that reinforced the concept of ‘environment’, giving the State exclusive legislative power in matters related to the protection of the environment, ecosystems and cultural heritage. Several laws and regulations at the national, regional and local levels comprise Italian nature protection policy.

Nature protection policies directly empower regional governments for drafting and implementing the specific regional laws; at the municipality level, the local administrations are generally involved in the management of protected areas within their territory.

Nature protection policy regulation

Nature protection policy in Italy at the national level is mainly regulated by the legal framework of protected areas (National Law no. 34/1991), which regulates the national and regional parks as well as state nature reserves. Management of EU NATURA2000 sites is regulated by several decrees.

At the national level the Legal Framework of Protected Areas no. 394/1991 represents the national guidelines for the forest protection policy at the national and regional levels; its main objectives are:

• the conservation of animal and plant species, forest typologies, rare geological and paleontological formations, biological communities, biotopes, scenic and landscape peculiarities, natural processes of hydraulic and hydro-geological balances, ecological balances;
• application of management or environmental restoration strategies in order to integrate human activities and the natural environment, including the protection of anthropological, archaeological, historical, architectural and agro-forestry-pastoral traditions;
• promotion of educational activities and interdisciplinary scientific research activities;
• defence and reconstruction of hydro-geological balances;
• protection of habitats, plant associations and forest typologies, habitat and species of particular importance.

Other strategic laws relevant for nature and environmental protection are:

• National Law no. 120 of 1st June 2002 on the Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol;
• National Law no. 36/1994 “Provisions regarding water resources” (also known as the ‘Galli Law’) governs the use of water resources and establishes that water use must be directed towards saving and resource renewal in order to not harm available water resources, environmental quality, agriculture, aquatic wildlife and flora, geomorphological processes and hydro-geological balances.

At the regional level, the goals and objectives of the Legal Framework of Protected areas (Law no. 394/91) were incorporated into regional law with several decrees and deliberations.

The municipality level has no legislative powers in terms of nature protection, but acts in the management of the protected areas and in the identification of areas to be protected, promoting and implementing objectives and goals of national and regional policy.

Main actors involved in nature protection

At the national level, most of the policy actors are the same as those relevant for forest policies. For nature protection polices specifically, the Ministry for Environment, Territory and Sea is responsible for the establishment of the National Park Administrations (Enti Parco), while the Regional administration, provinces, municipalities and former mountain communities constitute the community of the park. The management and the monitoring of these protected areas is carried out by: a) park rangers employed by the National Park Administration, b) State Forest Corps through a specific agreement and protocols with the National Park Administration, and c) special park rangers dedicated to specific activities.

National parks are established over large areas based around a given strategic interest, sometimes covering more than one region and including several municipalities; their administration depends on the Ministry for Environment, Territory and Sea. Regional parks cover smaller areas within a single region and are established to conserve natural resources within a social framework.

At the regional level, most of the policy actors also are the same as those listed in the forest policies article. For nature protection polices, the Regional Administration plays a key role in the establishment of the areas within the Natura 2000 network (SCIs, SACs and SPAs) in agreement with the Ministry for Environment, Territory and Sea and the European Commission. The Regional Administration - through the Department of Environment and with advice from highly qualified external institutions such as universities - identifies the relevant areas (including the specific habitats listed in the EU Directives) and proposes the creation of a protected area to the Ministry for Environment and to the European Commission, who are then responsible for the final establishment of the SCIs, SACs and SPAs areas. After the European Commission recognizes the draft list of areas to be introduced in the Natura 2000 Network, the Ministry for Environment, Territory and Sea officially establishes the SCIs and SPAs via a specific Ministerial Decree. Finally, the Regional Administration assumes management responsibilities for the protected areas according to a specific Management Plan.

At the municipality level, the municipality administration representatives (Majors) are directly involved in the Park Administration (Ente Parco) as a permanent member of the park community as well as in the process of identifying new protected areas.

Other important actors who are directly involved in nature protection policy at the different levels are the representatives of local scientific institutions, such as the University of Basilicata.

Main policy instruments and procedures relating to the organization of the nature protection sector

The main instrument related to the management of the national and regional parks is the “Plan of the Park”, which is drawn up by the park administration in agreement with the park community (consisting of the president of the region, president of the province, president of the mountain community and majors of the municipalities within the park area). The Plan regulates the general organization of the territory through a zoning of the park area and more specifically it: defines acceptable land use; defines services and infrastructure necessary for the park; addresses general and particular approaches for the management of the park’s resources, including environmental, forest and agricultural resources.

SCIs, SACs and SPAs areas are regulated by specific conservation measures  and in some cases additional Management Plans. The Basilicata region Another also employs informal informal instruments such as recommendations and the guidelines provided by the Regional Forest Office to be considered during drawing up of Forest Management Plans.

Implementation, impacts, effectiveness of nature protection policy

At the regional level, the implementation of nature protection policy in the Basilicata region and in the Matera study site has been mainly developed following the Legal Framework of Protected Areas (National Law no. 394/1991) through the direct involvement of the regional administrative structures in the coordination, support and implementation of the protection measures in the regional territories. The Basilicata Region has been particularly active in the institution of protected areas, which now represent 24% of the regional territory and include two national parks, two regional parks, eight state reserves and six regional reserves. Moreover, the Natura 2000 Network in Basilicata is composed of 50 CSIs and 17 SPAs, covering 17% of the total regional extension. The Basilicata Region Administration also directly supports the Natura2000 network through forest management regulations (forest cutting methods; guidelines for reforestation and afforestation activities; definition of intervention methods for hydro-geological management infrastructures)

The establishment and management of protected areas and nature protection policies in the Matera study site produced several (environmental) impacts, namely:

• biodiversity increase in term of species and landscape diversity thanks to the laws and regulations that promote the conservation of animal and plant species included in the lists of protected flora and fauna of the relevant EU Directives (about 1000 species in Basilicata);
• reduction in forest and ecosystem fragmentation;
• general improvement in the structural condition of forest, with a consequent increase in ecophysiological and phytosanitary conditions. Silvicultural activities in protected areas are not oriented towards forest productivity, but also towards establishing a functional recovery of (overexploited) forests;
• Improvement in hydro-geological conditions.

The presence of protected areas has led to environmental improvements whose major effects are expected in the medium to long-term. The improvement of forest quality, efficiency and productivity has already been recognized via the positive effects on species biodiversity and landscape diversity. The effects on soil quality from a reduction of degradation processes and hydro-geological risks are expected in the long-term.

From a social perspective, the presence of protected areas and specific financial incentives has promoted the recovery of traditional agriculture and forest practices via the production of quality local products and the development of local farms. The establishment of protected areas has sometimes led to the founding of associations or cooperatives for the tourism sector.

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In Italy, there is no specific set of legislation aimed at combating drought and desertification with particular reference to forests or shrublands; efforts and strategies in this area are included in the general legislative framework developed to protect environmental resources and to mitigate landscape degradation. The soil protection policies are also often included in more comprehensive laws and regulations, frequently relating to water conservation. In fact, the overall goal of the national legislation on soil protection policy has been to consolidate all of the previous laws relating to water, hydraulic infrastructures, soil defence, soil and water pollution into a few legislative instruments. This aim comes from the underlying perspective that the subjects of the policy - soil and environmental protection within well defined territorial boundaries – are represented by the catchment area.

Main policy instruments related to soil protection and desertification

Source: authors

Soil protection, desertification and drought policy regulation

At the national level, soil protection policy is regulated by National Law no. 183/1989 (Rules for the organizational and functional soil conservation), which introduced the concept of territorial resource programming and management. It is currently the main planning instrument within Italy, although no “overall” basin plan has been approved. Instead, excerpts of plans for “hydro-geological risk” which aim to identify and delimit areas at hydro-geological risk have been developed and approved by several interregional and regional Basin Authorities. The aims of the law are the functional reorganization of soil conservation and the establishment of framework measures for soil conservation, water resource management and the protection of environmental interests.

At the regional level, national soil protection policy has been integrated by Regional Law no. 2/2001 which, establishes the Basin Authority of the Basilicata Region. Soil protection policy and regulations are also directly or indirectly involved as a part of other environmental policies, such as those relating to the forest sector.

Regarding desertification issues more specifically, the main instrument is the National Program to Combat Drought and Desertification (NAP) that was approved by the Inter-ministerial Committee for Economic Programming (CIPE) on 21 December 1999. At the national level, it identifies areas that are vulnerable to desertification and defines criteria for implementing the fight against this progression.  The aim and objectives of the program were to encourage regions and basin authorities to identify areas vulnerable to desertification and adopt mitigation and adaptation measures.

Soil and desertification measures are also included in

• the Legislative Decree no. 152/2006 on Environmental Regulations, defining the Environmental Assessment Procedure;
• Legislative Decree no. 152/1999 on Water protection, which assigns the regions and basin authorities the task of checking in their areas of jurisdiction for the presence of areas subject to or threatened by drought, degradation and processes of desertification. These areas are then to be designated as “areas vulnerable to desertification” and specific measures should be adopted to protect them.

Main actors involved

At the national level, most of the policy actors in soil protection policy are the same as those listed for forest policies. Regarding soil protection polices, the main actors involved in soil protection policy are the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Infrastructure, representing the National Government in the Institutional Committee of the Basin Authority of Basilicata. Other actors at the regional level are represented by the Interregional River Basin Authorities of the Basilicata, Apulia, Campania and Calabria regions, relating to the river systems crossing through more than one region.

The main actors involved in the administration of the Basin Authority of Basilicata are:

• the Institutional Committee chaired by the Minister of the Environment and composed of the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Civil Protection, the Presidents of the Regional Administration involved in the river basin and the Secretary General of Basin Authority;
• the Technical Committee chaired by the Secretary General and composed of representatives of government and regional administrations, the director of the Basilicata region agency for the protection of environment (ARPAB), experts of high scientific value of the University, and a representative of the Civil Protection;
• Secretary General, Head of the Technical Secretariat works directly with the central governments, regional authorities and other local authorities;
• Technical and Operational Secretariat defines the organizational structure of the office, the scheme of operation and the allocation of internal staff duties.

Other actors involved in the different laws are the state, regions, provinces, municipalities, basin authorities, universities and other research institutions as well as the national and regional environmental protection agencies that ensure the execution of the different competencies.

Implementation, impacts, effectiveness of soil protection policy, desertification and drought policies

The basic operational instrument for soil protection policies is the Basin Plan, as provided by national law no. 183/89 and adopted at the regional level by regional laws no. 2/2001. The BP is a spatial plan representing the basic regulatory, technical and operational instruments defining the planned and scheduled actions and regulations for the conservation, protection and enhancement of soil and the proper use of water on the basis of the physical and environmental characteristics of the catchment area. The information contained in the Basin Plan is implemented through a three-year Program of Intervention (maintenance and repairs, studies and surveys, comprehensive plans, feasibility studies and executive plans for soil conservation).

The impacts of soil protection policy in the study area are generally distributed over a large scale and the greater impacts are likely to be detectable in the medium to long-term. However, the effectiveness of soil protection policy can already be detected.

The activities of the Basin Authority of Basilicata in the last decade have created a substantial increase in knowledge in all of the regional catchment areas and have produced thematic maps fundamental for the planning of interventions. Among the thematic maps produced, the most important are the Landslides Risk Map, the Basilicata Region Soil Map, and the Nitrate Pollution Risk Map (Regione Basilicata 2006).

Another important field of interest is the analysis of desertification processes. In this regard, the Basilicata Region has been involved in several international projects such as MEDALUS, DESERTLINKS, MEDACTION and DESERTNET that produced, among others outputs, the Regional Map of Desertification Risk which represents a useful tool for territorial knowledge and planning. Other important interventions in forested areas have been carried out to reduce the risk of erosion and landslides as well as interventions to maintain stream banks in order to reduce the risk of flooding and coastal erosion (environmental effectiveness).

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The assessment of environmental impacts is defined as the analysis of the environmental impacts of proposed projects, plans and programmes relating to land use, transport, industry, energy, waste and agriculture aiming to prevent and reduce any impact or disturbance and is conducted according to two EU directives Directive 2011/92 (Environmental Impact Assessment- EIA) and Directive 2001/42 (Strategic Environmental Assessment- SEA).

Main policy instruments related to horizontal policies

Source: Authors

Horizontal policy regulation

At the national level, the EIA Directive has been firstly adopted through the Law no. 349 1986 and then modified and amended up to the Legislative Decree (L.D.) no. 152/2006. The SEA Directive has been adopted through the Legislative Decree (L.D.) no. 152/2006 and further modified by the L.D. no. 4/2008 and L.D. no. 128/2010. EIA and the SEA procedures represent a key instrument of environmental integration, covering a wide range of projects and ensuring their environmental sustainability. At the national and regional levels, the main objective of the EIA and SEA procedures is “to provide a high level of protection for the environment and to contribute to the integration of environmental considerations into the preparation and adoption of plans and programmes with a view to promoting sustainable development, by ensuring that, in accordance with this Directive, an environmental assessment is carried out of certain plans and programmes which are likely to have significant effects on the environment”.

Objects of EIA are public and private projects which are likely to have significant effects on the environment. It is mandatory that projects listed in Annex I of the EIA Directive (85/337/EEC) are subject to the EIA procedure, while is it not mandatory for projects listed in the Annex II; whether or not it will be carried out is based on an assessment of the national authorities through a screening procedure determining the effects of said projects on the basis of thresholds/criteria or a case by case examination. The SEA objects are defined only amongst the public projects and are mandatory for plans/programmes related to agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy, industry, transport, waste/ water management, telecommunications, tourism, town and country planning or land use and which set the framework for future development consent of projects listed in the EIA Directive. The SEA is also mandatory for plans and programmes that have been determined as requiring an assessment under the Habitats Directive.

Main actors involved in forest policy

The main actors in the horizontal policy for environmental assessment at a national level are represented by the Ministry of Environment and Protection of Land and Sea through the Directorate for Environmental Assessments, which provides the technical administrative documentation on procedures for SEA and EIA. At the regional level, the regional administration is the main policy actor in the implementation of the EIA and SEA. At the moment, the Basilicata Regional Administration has produced a regional law that regulates only the EIA procedure, represented by the Regional Law no. 47/1998; for the SEA procedures, the national regulations are applied, based on the L.D. no. 152/2006 and its further modifications (L.D. no. 4/2008 and L.D. no. 128/2010). The Office of Environmental Compatibility and Activities of the Department of Environment of the Basilicata Region is responsible for the application of the relevant EU, national and regional laws. Moreover, the Office of Environmental Compatibility and Activities is responsible for the regional annual report of the EIA and SEA. At the municipality level, the local administrations are not involved as policy actors in the EIA and SEA implementation procedures, but are subject to the application of both procedures for all public plans and proposed programmes.

Implementation, impacts, effectiveness of horizontal environmental policy

A key role in the implementation of the EIA and SEA procedures is played by the ARPAB, which is the Basilicata Regional Agency for the Protection of Environment. The ARPAB is designed to be responsible for the supervision of the completion of the approved projects, ensuring their environmental compatibility. This activity is reported to the Office of Environmental Compatibility of the Basilicata Region in an ongoing manner.

The main instrument in the implementation of the EIA and SEA procedures is the environmental report in order to define:

• environmental sustainability of the project, plan or programme;
• project description and legal and administrative framework;
• scoping and screening;
• description of the existing environment, the contents of monitoring indicators and their calculation methods;
• analysis of alternatives and criteria for the selection of the proposed alternative;
• environmental issues of the project;
• mitigation measures;
• environmental management and training and environmental monitoring plan, including the quantification and allocation of adequate resources to perform the activities of monitoring, the definition of methods for giving regular reports on the monitoring mechanisms of the realignment plan / programme in the event of unforeseen adverse effects.

The horizontal policies for the environment assessment represented by the EIA and SEA procedures have been largely implemented in the Basilicata Region in the last ten years. Due to the mandatory nature of the EIA and SEA and thanks to the institution of the Basilicata Region Agency for Environment Protection (ARPAB), 254 projects have been submitted to the ARPAB during the period from 2003 to 2009 for the evaluation of environmental compatibility; among these projects, 58 have applied for EIA and been approved by the Basilicata Region Administration. The remaining 196 projects which were submitted for screening activity and the Basilicata Region Administration did not require an Environmental Assessment.

The horizontal policy for the environmental assessment was highly effective in its application due to the mandatory structure of the procedure. Yet, it is hard to define direct effects of the policy on the development of the Matera SES since it serves more as a control tool aiming to ensure project sustainability from the environmental point of view, thereby maintaining the environmental efficiency. From this point of view, it has been highly effective in environment conservation efforts and thus in the conservation of the environmental functions of the Matera SES.