Use of fuzzy cognitive maps to develop policy strategies for the optimization of municipal waste management: A case study of the land of fires (Italy)

Pasquale Marcello Falcone and Salvatore Paolo De Rosa

Land Use Policy, 2020, vol. 96, issue C

Abstract: This paper applies an analytical method for developing policy strategies to optimize municipal waste management systems (MWMSs) to the case of the Land of Fires (LoF). The LoF is an area of Italy’s Campania region that is characterized by a legacy of authoritarian environmental governance and the improper dumping and burning of waste. In this paper, we employ the fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM) method, which draws on a participatory approach. Specifically, the complexity of the investigated system was determined from the causal relations identified by relevant stakeholders and experts. The results show that the most effective policy strategies to improve the LoF MWMS, as identified by informants, include: fostering social innovation (e.g. communication and information campaigns); promoting technological innovation (e.g. material and process design); and supporting scientific and technological cooperation among actors. The overall diversity of the identified policy strategies suggests that policy makers must move beyond a simple “best option” approach, given the systemic complexity of the waste management sector.

Keywords: Waste management; Land of fires; Fuzzy cognitive maps; Policy strategies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837719307641
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:96:y:2020:i:c:s0264837719307641

DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104680

Access Statistics for this article

Land Use Policy is currently edited by Jaap Zevenbergen

More articles in Land Use Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Joice Jiang ().