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case study: Po

1. Name Partner

University of Bologna, Department of Agricultural Economics and Engineering (DEIAGRA)

2. General case study characteristics

2a. Geographical characteristics

The Po river basin covers some 71000 km² (about a quarter of all national territory). The basin touches 6 different regions. The basin includes areas from the high Alps to areas which are situated some meters below sea level. Main towns are Torino, Milano.

2b. Land use characteristics

Agriculture dominant land use (59%), mainly livestock and herbaceous crops (rice and maize), but also highly urbanized with 16 million inhabitants (100 to 1500 inhabitants/km²). Main industrial areas include Torino, Milano, Varese, Brescia, Bergamo. About 24% percent of the land is covered with forests.

3. Pressure and impact analysis

3a. Main pressure(s) and/or pollutant(s)

Water abstraction from surface water bodies is about 25,1 billion cubic meters per year and 5,3 billion cubic meters from groundwater. Main sources of pollution are households, agriculture, industry and energy.

• Agriculture: Responsible for 46% of total water use and for 33% of total pollution; emission of nutrients (N,P) and pesticides
• Households:Responsible for 16% of total water use and for 15% of total pollution
• Industry: Responsible for 20% of total water use and for 52% of total pollution
• Energy: Responsible for 18% of total water use (in theory non-comsumptive, but critical in peak periods)

3b. Impact(s)

Status water quality improving, but not good in a majority of the surface water bodies in the basin. DL 183/1989 sets water status objectives. WFD good chemical and ecological status objectives have not been established yet. Environmental damage categories include reduction of river flows, eutrophication (phosphorus) and ammoniacal nitrogen.

4. Definition goods and services provided by aquatic ecosystem

Most important goods and services provided by the aquatic ecosystem include drinking water, irrigation water, recreation, hydroelectric energy, cooling water and water used for other industrial processes. Water management is also connected to flood defense, soil conservation, subsidence control.

5. Beneficiaries / stakeholders involved

Households (drinking water, recreation), industry (cooling, process water), agriculture (irrigation), energy (hydroelectric).

6. Definition environmental and resource costs and benefits

Environmental costs are the costs of not reaching good ecological status (virtual objective) by 2015 throughout the entire Po district.

7. Main objective monetary valuation environmental and resource costs and benefits

Estimation of environmental and resource benefits of reaching good ecological status for inclusion in cost-benefit analysis of the WFD program of measures (to be identified) or analogous program according to Italian law, or to underpin possible derogation according to Article 4.

8. Economic valuation method

Stated preference methods such as contingent valuation and choice experiments to assess the use and non-use values associated with reaching good ecological status now and in the future and travel cost study to assess recreational benefits as revealed preference method. Simulation models to assess opportunity costs of water resource use.

9. Key methodological issues

• Linking economic values to pressure and/or biological impact indicators
• Aggregation/upscaling economic values from individual water body to basin level
• Benefits transfer across sub-basins, taking into account spatial (upstream-downstream) interrelationships and possible substitution effects (e.g. recreation)
• Scenarios about the future of main economic activities
• Possibility of creating a GIS based value map

10. Available data, information sources and stakeholder involvement

• Regional plans for water protection (PTA) (comparison, little economic information)
• Available estimates of costs of water services
• Contingent Valuation surveys carried out in neighbouring areas
• Autorità di Bacino del Po (Po river basin authority), Regional administrations, ARPA

Case Study Status Report Po River Basin, April 2007 [pdf, 1.3 MB]