108 million is the estimate of the damage caused by marine litter on beaches between Livorno and La Spezia: the results of the experimental study conducted by the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Sustainability and Climate involving 600 citizens
In addition to the harmful effects on the health of theecosystem, for people and animals, the presence of marine waste causes damage and a loss of value that can also be expressed in economic terms. 108 million euro is the estimate of the value of the damage caused by marine waste in the coastal area of Tuscany and Liguria, of great landscape interest and tourist importance, between the provinces of Livorno, Pisa, Lucca, Massa Carrara, La Spezia, according to the results of the experimental study involving 600 citizens and conducted by the Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Sustainability and Climate of the Sant'Anna School, coordinated by Marco Frey.
The research was carried out as part of a project in collaboration with the Blue Resolution Association and with Ergo, a spin-off company of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, to estimate the value of the damage caused by marine litter. The assessment involved studying the impact of the presence of marine litter in the coastal area between Livorno and La Spezia. About 600 citizens were interviewed, who, faced with the scenario of their favourite beach being occupied by a large amount of litter, claimed ‘a total of’ 108 million euro in damages. Of the various representations, (e.g. social or environmental), the economic value provides a measure of the importance of natural resources for people's wellbeing: this valuation allows easier and more effective communication of the extent of the damage caused by marine litter, as well as greater comparability within decision-making processes.
EUR 108 million is the total figure resulting from the sum of the value related to the individual negative experience experienced by citizens and therefore scalable, in principle, whenever the experience recurs. ‘Talking about marine litter in economic terms,’ comments Natalia Marzia Gusmerotti, associate professor affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Sustainability and Climate at the Sant'Anna School, ‘allows us to focus on the strategic dimension of the choices that can be made at different levels and in different spheres, public, private, economic and social. These are strategies and decision-making processes that public and private actors should be able to design together, for the benefit of the well-being of citizens, local communities and ecosystems'.
‘The magnitude of the value of marine litter already emerges in itself, as well as in comparison. The added value generated each year by the blueeconomy(economy of the sea) in the provinces of Grosseto and Livorno, for example, amounts to around EUR 3 billion. While the value of the European H2020 research and innovation programme amounts to EUR 0.20 per capita. Making the consequences of marine litter damage visible in monetary terms can and should stimulate innovation processes at different levels and for different categories of stakeholders'.
What can be the use of these data, referring to the valorisation of the damage caused by marine litter? ‘Public decision-makers,’ continues Natalia Marzia Gusmerotti, ‘can use these results to innovate their decision-making processes, compare land management scenarios, promote social change and create new alliances. Businesses and value chains in the marine and tourism economy can invest in sustainable innovation and act in a collaborative manner, seeking in sustainability an authentic distinctive character and added value for competitiveness, through the protection of key resources such as the sea and its reputation’.
