Year: 2007
Type: dissertation
Abstract: 3 See for example the Japanese 70,000 Roof Program, which allowed an increase by 63% of PV production in Japan.In Germany the 100,000 Roof Program, together with a law that establishes a rebate rate of 0.5 € for each kWh of electricity generated by means of PV, is strongly supporting the solar sector.Moreover, since SPN had a limited budget, it had to minimize its costs.Also, as part of the Public Administration, SPN had to try to choose options characterized by a low cost for the entire society.Concluding, its objectives can be summarized in this way: ⇒ ECONOMIC DIMENSION: cost minimization, both for for SPN and for society ⇒ ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSION: environmental protection ⇒ SOCIAL DIMENSION: integration between human and environmental systemPosition on electrification.SPN was interested in the electrification of the isolated farmhouses because it was a way of helping the repopulation of the Park.In fact, nowadays few people would be willing to live without electricity.As already explained, human presence is indispensable for maintaining the architectural and natural patrimony of the Park: if the farmhouses are left alone, they become ruins in few years.5 "On the one side, the Park has the objective and the task to favour that the people live inside the Park and that there is no depopulation, that the traditional activities are maintained, and that life is maintained inside the Park, that the patrimony, the houses, etc., the ecosystems that depend on humans, are maintained.Montseny Park is a natural reserve of biosphere precisely for this reason, because its main objective is maintaining the relationship between men and nature, which made possible these landscapes.The loss of the human presence inside the Park implies also the loss of the ecosystems"Objectives.Montseny owners did not want to permanently live inside the Park, because it would have implied to give up some comfort.They had a long-term perspective: they did not need an immediate profit (they had sufficient means not to need further incomes), but they were interested in increasing the value of their properties.In fact, there were some farmhouses that were abandoned because the owner preferred to let them fall apart than rent them to unknown people and lose control over their property.However, with appropriate infrastructure in terms of communication, electricity, etc., they could have thought about setting up an economic activity such as a restaurant or a rural tourism pension.Also, owners belonged to few rich families with a long tradition in the Montseny area.Probably, part of the reasons why they kept buying farmhouses (such as in the recent case of La Codina) or not selling them had to do with their relationship with the Park.They wanted to extend their control on the Park and help preserve it.In other words, owners were not only interested in getting an income from the Park, but also environmental protection was important to them.In any case, the two objectives were interrelated, especially in the case of tourist activities: if the environment were compromised, the income would be lower.Another aspect to consider is that there was a widespread feeling that rural areas were discriminated with respect to cities, because they were provided with a considerably lower level of services.Also, in many cases the owners felt that their contribution in maintaining the architectural and natural patrimony of the Park was not sufficiently recognized.Human presence was necessary to maintain the particular landscape of the Park, which was a product of a long history of interaction between agriculture, forest exploitation, breeding and natural ecosystems.Therefore, the owners whished that their effort would be compensated for by the Public Administration, giving them more subsidies and facilities.Summarizing, three main objectives can be defined for owners: ⇒ ECONOMIC DIMENSION: income maximization/cost minimization ⇒ ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSION: environmental protection ⇒ SOCIAL DIMENSION: reduction of disparities with respect to urban populationPosition on rural electrification.
Author: Daniela Russi
Language: English
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W11159280