The Compensative Ecological Evaluation

By project NACAO

Published on 24 August 2023

Italy

Marche

About this good practice

The Compensative Ecological Evaluation (in Italian Valutazione Ecologica Compensativa – VEC) ) is a method that can be used to identify negative impacts of territorial transformation cased to natural areas. The VEC method bases on an algorithm that computes 1) the ecological value of natural areas 2) the intensity of the damage in respect to the initial conditions, 3) the extention of natural surface that have to be restored (compensation) to mantain the initial ecological value. The algorithm useses data and information on natural areas (type of vegetation, ecosystem completeness, ecological value of the biotope type, etc.) before (measured) and after (expected) the intervention and information on the biotopes to be created as compensation (as the ecological value and the time restoration factor).

Resources needed

The protocol between Marche Region and Università Politecnica delle Marche required 50.000€ of direct costs plus personnel.
For the application of the method in specific cases, resources for private sector would be used (costs of compensation works)

Evidence of success

The method has been approved with act of the regional assembly n. 780 of 05/06/2023.
This approach allows introducing nature-based solution every time a project or a plan is expected to damage or to modify the ecological value of an area, enhancing in the meantime the carbon stock capacity of the natural systems.

Potential for learning or transfer

The good practice has the form of an administrative act that could be easily transferred in other context. It does not impose obligation, but gives instead an objective approach for the quantification of compensation.
The transfer of the method itself does not imply costs.
Under SEA and EIA procedures, compensation is an obligation and the coasts are chargeable to the responsible of project or plan implementation.
The ecological analysis, on which the method is based, has been performed on the central Italy biogeographic region. The transfer to other regions require a verification of the ecological value for each biotope included in the methodology.