Tourists and Local Stakeholders’ Perception of Ecosystem Services Provided by Summer Farms in the Eastern Italian Alps

Carine Pachoud, Riccardo Da Re, Maurizio Ramanzin, Stefano Bovolenta, Damiano Gianelle and Enrico Sturaro
Additional contact information
Carine Pachoud: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
Riccardo Da Re: Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
Maurizio Ramanzin: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
Stefano Bovolenta: Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Via delle Scienze, 206, 33100 Udine, Italy
Damiano Gianelle: Department of Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38010 San Michele all’Adige (TN), Italy
Enrico Sturaro: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale dell’Università, 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: In the Alps, summer farms are temporary units, where cattle are moved during summer to graze on Alpine pastures, which provide multiple ecosystem services (ESs), many of which do not have a market value. This study aimed at understanding and comparing the perceptions of summer farms and of the associated ESs by local stakeholders and tourists in a study area of the province of Trento in the eastern Italian Alps. Thirty-five online questionnaires and two focus groups were realized with local stakeholders involved in the dairy value-chain. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 405 tourists in two representative summer farms. The perceptions of summer farms differed between local stakeholders, who mainly focused on provisioning ESs, and tourists, who mainly focused on cultural and regulating ESs. Both categories of actors rated positively eight different ESs associated with summer farms, but demonstrated a lack of knowledge of specific regulating ESs. This study showed that discussion among the different actors is required to increase mutual knowledge and to grasp the diversity of links between summer farms and ESs, in order to support public policies and private initiatives for promoting summer farm products and the sustainable development of mountain regions.

Keywords: ecosystem services; summer farm; Alpine pasture; local stakeholders; tourists (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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