La gestione economica delle aree protette tra oubblico e privato. Ill caso di una zona umida costiera a Marano Lagunare

Environmental associations, business organisations and local community groups have traditionally had conflicting opinions about the effect on the economy of creating parks. This is largely the result of lack of information about the real potential of using resources in a protected area. On one hand, the emphasis is on the positive effects that parks can have on the local economy. On the other hand, there is a highlighting of the costs related to the restrictions and the occasional negative effects of developing parks nationally and abroad. Since it is extremely unlikely that the necessary funds for improvement will in any case come from state finances, it is clear that only the existence of high demand for parks as a "commodity" can guarantee the success or otherwise of protective measures. Knowing this demand therefore appears to be an increasingly strategic variable in determining the success of nature conservation policies. Indeed it defines both the social value of the protected area and the amount spent for touristic use and cultural purposes as well as ultimately the financial benefit to the local economy. Within this context, the research project attempted to analyse the effects on the local economy and the benefits to the community of the creation of the "Valle Canal-Novo" Visitors Centre located in Marano (Udine). To do so, a survey of the nature of the Visitors Centre demand was carried out using face-to-face interviews. Using valuation methods for environmental goods such as Travel Cost and contingent valuation, an estimate of the social benefits connected to recreational use of the area in the presence of alternative management policies was drawn up. The overall effects on the local economy in terms of expenditure by visitors were also estimated. This made it possible to observe that management policies can have a profound effect both on the flow of benefits to the community and the consequences for the local economy. There is therefore clearly a need for well defined objectives and the adoption of coherent managerial measures to reach them.