Environmental quality and tourism development at a local level:

Transcription

1 PROGETTO LIFE P.H.A.R.O.S. LIFE 04 ENV/IT/ PHAROS Playgrounds, Harbours and Research of Sustainability Environmental quality and tourism development at a local level: new ways towards governance guidelines for setting up environmental management systems based on EMAS II rules on important tourism facilities (Pleasure Craft Marinas and Golf Courses) integrated with sustainable local development processes fostered by Local Bodies 1

2 GENERAL CONTENTS 1. THE P.H.A.R.O.S. PROJECT What is the P.H.A.R.O.S. project and how was it born The operational team and methodology followed... 4 THE P.H.A.R.O.S. PROJECT : The problem The answer The Problem: strong points and weak points of a tourist region The proposal of P.H.A.R.O.S... 6 THE P.H.A.R.O.S. MODEL The choice of approach STEP 1: integration of city environmental policies Indicators of local sustainability STEP 2: integration of city environmental policies with the environmental policies of marinas and golf courses EMAS AS A TOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN PLEASURE CRAFT MARINAS AND GOLF COURSES

3 1. THE P.H.A.R.O.S. PROJECT (By Ms Daniela Minetti and Ms Laura Muraglia Regione Liguria) 1.1 What is the P.H.A.R.O.S. project and how was it born In the Mediterranean regions of Europe, the issue of multiple and conflicting uses of coastlines together with the spread of tourism facilities has become increasingly important in recent years. Pleasure craft marinas and golf courses are tourism facilities of excellence; however, they have an important impact on the environment especially in a fragile region such as Liguria. This is why Regione Liguria has developed the PHAROS project - Playgrounds, Harbours and Research of Sustainability, financed by the European Commission under the programme Life Environment The PHAROS project involves determining methodology for EMAS registration (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) of marinas and golf courses integrated with sustainable development processes fostered by Local Bodies. The aim of the project is to build and experiment a local governance model based on actual integration of environmental policies fostered by subjects in the territory (tourism facilities, residents, Local Administrations) using EMAS environmental management systems as a tool. To set up the P.H.A.R.O.S. project a work group was put together consisting of 22 partners among which are 6 golf courses, 4 marinas, 7 Municipalities, the University of Genoa, the University of Turin, the consultancy firm Sige Srl, the Liguria Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPAL) and Regione Liguria as head of the project. The partners BENEFICIARY AND HEAD: Regione Liguria PARTNERS: University of Genoa - Dip.Te.Ris. ARPAL University of Turin Agroinnova Servizi Industriali Genova SIGE srl La Filanda s.r.l. golf Albisola Superiore Golf Club of Pineta di Arenzano Castellaro Golf Golf Club Garlenda Golf Club of Ulivi Golf and Tennis Club of Rapallo Marina di Varazze S.r.l. Marina degli Aregai Portosole CNIS S.p.A. Cala Cravieu S.c.r.l. City of Albisola Superiore (SV) City of Albissola Marina (SV) City of Arenzano (GE) City of Celle Ligure (SV) City of Cogoleto (GE) City of Garlenda (SV) City of Varazze (SV) LOCATION: Genoa LOCATION: Genoa Genoa Grugliasco (TO) Genoa Albisola Superiore (SV) Arenzano (GE) Castellaro (IM) Garlenda (SV) Sanremo (IM) Rapallo (GE) Varazze (SV) Santo Stefano al Mare (IM) Sanremo (IM) Celle Ligure (SV) LIFE 04 ENV/IT/ PHAROS 3

4 Objectives The P.H.A.R.O.S. project enabled: strengthening regional planning and programming with specific guidelines thanks to information on experimentation underway integrating environmental policies of golf facilities and marinas with regional policies and environmental management policies of Local Bodies in a wider context of governance for Mediterranean coastlines defining and experimenting innovative techniques for good environmental management practiced by golf courses and marinas experimenting the use of Environmental Management Systems implemented in compliance with EMAS rules by golf courses and marinas in the Mediterranean defining at the same time guidelines for using environmental management systems and for defining sustainable policies for these types of facilities both while under development and when in full operation. Technical activities From an operational standpoint the activities included in the P.H.A.R.O.S. project were organised into 6 specific areas and developed by the same number of technical roundtables composed of project partners: Area 1 GUIDELINES : Drafting guidelines for EMAS II registration of marinas and golf courses integrated with the Environmental Management Systems and processes of Local Agenda 21 (A21L) started by Local Administrations. Area 2 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (EMS) : Implementation of environmental management systems for project partner marinas and golf courses in order to obtain EMAS for at least two facilities Area 3 COMMUNICATION : Spreading knowledge acquired and techniques developed to involve tourism facilities, public bodies, residents and academia on a local, national and European level. Area 4 IMPLEMENTATION AND OPPORTUNITIES : Carrying out studies and experimenting techniques and innovative best practices for marina and golf course environmental management. Area 5 GOVERNANCE : Determining and experimenting a local governance model based on actual integration of territory sustainability policies fostered by local players (tourism facilities, residents, Local Bodies) Area 6 MANAGEMENT : Project administration and financial management. 1.2 The operational team and methodology followed The operational team, organised in workgroups, worked on the various areas providing sector results that were integrated into a series of products that then gave rise to these guidelines. As with all the projects financed by the Environmental Life Programme, the results were disseminated on a national and European scale during the project. For this purpose an Open Group was created i.e. a roundtable open to all subjects outside the PHAROS project (representatives from public bodies or tourism facilities) interested in the activities underway. Every Open Group provided considerable space for discussion and debate where the participants played an active role in implementing the methodologies developed by the project partner roundtables. 4

5 Eight Open Groups, two conferences and three scientific workshops were organised during the P.H.A.R.O.S. project. In addition, two conferences were held at the city of Albisola Superiore (SV) and the city of Garlenda (SV), to disseminate project results as well as two events for users of the facilities: a Laser regatta entitled Trofeo PHAROS, held on 30 September and 1 October off the coast of Celle Ligure (SV) and Varazze (SV), and a golf tournament entitled Trofeo PHAROS, played on the greens of San Remo, Garlenda, Albisola Superiore, Arenzano and Rapallo from 26 August to 30 September The programme and report of all the events as well as the information disseminated are available on-line on the official Web site of Regione Liguria: 5

6 2. THE P.H.A.R.O.S. PROJECT : The problem The answer (By Ms Ingrid Barile Sige Srl) 2.1 The Problem: strong points and weak points of a tourist region For Liguria, and other coastal regions in the Mediterranean, tourism is an important part of the local economy. The undisputable charm of Liguria has spurred the local economy in recent decades bringing to life many excellent tourism infrastructures such as pleasure craft marinas and gold courses. However, when the tourist appeal is from natural resources, managing the local offer without due care can cause certain problems: it is extremely important to assess the impact tourism has on the local community. The tourist judges an area by its environment and services and at the same time they change the area due to their presence and the infrastructures they require. Indiscriminate use of local resources for the benefit of the tourist may deteriorate the quality of local life so much that local tourism itself may be compromised. In other words, there is a paradox where tourism destroys the very raw material that nourishes it, and that is tourism itself. So within the concept of sustainable development, sustainable tourism arises. Tourism may be defined as sustainable if the expectations and needs of residents are compatible with those of the tourists, and above all if this compatibility is not reached at the expense of the quality of package. In Liguria, with the high number of tourism facilities, which have spurred economic development, several conflicts have arisen between the use of coastland areas and immediate inland areas for tourism (e.g. swimming, boating, sports and recreation, hotels and restaurants, etc.) and traditional uses such as fishing, agriculture, industry and naturally the quality of life for residents. In this context a paradoxical conflict of interest may arise between tourism related business, the local population and Local Public Administration: the operator of facilities dedicated to tourism, even if they bring into the territory much appreciated wealth both for the local population and Public Administration, they often need to deal with issues of compatibility with the quality of life of local residents and a considerable amount of environmental regulations issued by institutions to protect local natural resources 2.2 The proposal of P.H.A.R.O.S. If the definition and setting of environmental standards on the one hand defends the principle that productive activities or services must be compatible with the environment, considering their natural dependence on natural resources which can no longer be considered non-depletable, on the other hand, in recent years the well-known relationship of Command and control has been consolidated between Public Administration and the business community. Thanks to the effects of the Rio conference in 1992 and European environmental standards developed from the 90s to the present, the assumptions of environmentally compatible have progressively changed, favouring dialogue to command and management to control. This is where the concept of sustainable development is born. The message contained in the definition of sustainable development is fundamental: development able to satisfy the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their own, places the concept of environmental protection in an innovative light: economic and social development should no longer be sought after at the expense of the environment and also environmental protection should reach the right compromise with economic and social needs of our present and future. The search for this delicate balance first of all assumes real cooperation between various local players in the government of the region they share. 6

7 So there are two basic components necessary to face such a challenge: a strategy of local governance that involves both Public Administration and the local population and business a standard tool to ensure shared management The solution proposed by the P.H.A.R.O.S. project to deal with the emerging issue of multiple and conflicting use of coastland areas, related to the spread of tourism facilities that have a potential impact on the environment, is based on the two assumptions mentioned above: the P.H.A.R.O.S. project was born with the aim to create and experiment a governance model based on actual involvement of local players (marinas and golf courses, local population, Public Administration) and by developing integrated environmental management systems (in accordance with ISO standards and EMAS Rules) for the cities and tourism facilities involved in the project, a more effective tool is available to implement shared management of the region. In 1999, thanks to regional and national grants (received as partial payment for damages incurred when the oil tanker Haven sunk off the coast of Arenzano), six of the partner cities involved in this project (Arenzano, Cogoleto, Varazze, Celle Ligure, Albissola Marina and Albisola Superiore) implemented environmental management systems obtaining certification according to ISO standards. GOVERNANCE: A model to govern a region based on networks of relations between players starting from the principle of subsidiarity (L. Muraglia D. Minetti) The city of Celle Ligure and then the cities of Albissola Marina, Albisola Superiore and Varazze also chose EMAS registration. The cities of Albissola Marina and Albisola Superiore also experimented with the integration of the environmental certification with ISO 9001:2000 quality assurance certification. Based on this common experience, in recent years the above Local Administrations have successively shared some local sustainability projects and have found an effective support tool in the respective environmental management systems. The seventh partner city, Garlenda, also ISO certified, developed its own environmental management system together with other cities in the Ingauna Mountain Community thanks to DOCUP grants from the region. Together with the experience of environmental certification all project partner cities started up a process in their area to involve residents in the management of local sustainability by activating Local Agenda 21 processes. The city of Celle Ligure was the first in Italy to develop a Local Agenda 21 process integrated with its ISO environmental management system and then with EMAS registration. The experience gained by all of these cities before starting up this project provided the assumptions to believe that the environmental management systems were a more suitable tool to support an integrated territory management model. Thus, the goal of the PHAROS project was to give a single form, a standard and repeatable method to the integration process and of course extend it also to tourism facilities. Concerning the use of environmental management systems as a tool to integrate the environmental policies of several subjects, it is fundamental to point out the following: When pursuing an integration process between several local players, sharing the territory is a necessary condition but it is not enough. Political consensus is the condition that is necessary and sufficient for a territory integration process. Without this will from the start it is impossible even to think about forms of integration between cities. Environmental management systems are not tools to create political consensus but are tools to manage it. 7

8 THE UNI EN ISO 14001:2004 STANDARD The UNI EN ISO 14001:2004 standard is a standard of voluntary good practices drafted by ISO (International Standards Organisation), recognised by CEN (European Standards Body) and made official in Italian by UNI (Italian National Unification Body) that describes the requirements for an environmental management system for organisations of any size and type that have an impact on the environment. Organisations that can follow good practices described in the UNI EN ISO 14001:2004 standard are any group, company, business, enterprise, Body or Institution, or their parts or combinations, associated or not, public or private, which have their own operational and administrative structure. The requirements described in the UNI EN ISO 14001:2004 standard are a series of good practices that describe how to set up an effective and efficient environmental management system inside a certain organisation. The environmental management system is simply an enterprise management system specifically set up for the management of the organisation s environmental impact or the management of the company s or body s interaction with the environment. EMAS RULES (REG. CE N. 761/2001) These are voluntary European rules from 2001 that describe the requirements for an environmental management and communications model. The complete name of the EMAS rules, formerly EMAS II to distinguish it from the previous abrogated version of 1993, is: Regulation (EC) no., 761/2001 of the European Parliament and Council of 19 March 2001, on the voluntary adherence of organisations to a European eco-management and audit system (EMAS) (GUCE L114 of ). EMAS is the acronym of the system described in the Regulation: Eco- Management and Audit Scheme. Similar to what has already been outlined for the UNI EN ISO 14001:2004 standard, also the EMAS rules describe a series of good practices to follow to implement an effective and efficient system to manage an organisation s environmental impact. Actually, to be more precise, the EMAS Rules prescribe that an environmental management system should be implemented according to ISO standards (EC Reg. no. 761/2001: art. 3, point 2 sec. a) and annex I, EC Regulation no. 196/2006 of ), and prescribes as an additional requirement the obligation to draft and make public an environmental statement. AGENDA 21 In 1992, representatives from the United Nations gathered in Rio de Janeiro for a summit on the state of the Earth and they took a commitment to reach a long-lasting and sustainable development model worldwide. This commitment was made official with Agenda 21, the document signed by world leaders at the end of the summit. According to Agenda 21, the population of the entire planet must commit to reaching a standard of life able to satisfy the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their own (sustainable development). The operational strategy to adopt to pursue this goal is a capillary plan of action that involves the population at every level in a plan of action based on active participation, collaboration and constant exchange of experiences and information between all those involved. In Local Agenda 21, chapter 28 of the document signed by the United Nations, Local Bodies from all over the world are invited to define and adopt a plan of action for local sustainable development in collaboration with all sectors of the local community (residents, associations, interest groups). 8

9 3. THE P.H.A.R.O.S. MODEL (By Ms Ingrid Barile Sige Srl) 3.1 The choice of approach The Governance workgroup gave a fundamental contribution in defining and experimenting good practices of integrated management of local sustainability. In brief, the Governance roundtable was the one that defined effective methodologies for shared management of territory environmental impact integrating the management policies of cities with the project partners (marinas and golf courses). The first aspect to deal with was to determine the general approach on how to proceed with integration. The choice was actually already made when the project was conceived: use ISO standards and EMAS Rules as a tool to manage integration, i.e. the environmental management systems of Local Bodies and the project partners (marinas and golf courses). The motivation behind this choice was not only the success of partner cities before the PHAROS project, mentioned above. What makes the environmental management systems valid tools to manage the integration of territory policies of various local players are certain considerations that are important to point out: the environmental management systems, for how they are designed according to the ISO and EMAS models provide a series of general management and organisation methods that can be applied to both a Local Administration and a company for tourism. This is an important benefit: despite the clear organisational differences between a city administration and a company for tourism, at least in environmental management, a city and a tourism organisation that is ISO certified and/or EMAS registered use the same management scheme and so they speak the same language. Another benefit of adopting an environmental management system is the fact that according to ISO standards and EMAS rules, the environmental management system must undergo regular and systematic internal audits and inspections as well as regular (at least once a year) inspections carried out by a third party (the certification body for ISO or the environmental inspector and APAT for EMAS). Adopting a certified environmental management system therefore means starting to use an operational scheme in managing environmental impact which should be kept efficient and active in the long term. Regular internal inspections keep up the attention of city employees and company workers on the correct application of the management system. Having regular inspections carried out by the certification body (or environmental auditor) to keep certification (or registration) is a further way to adhere to management standards prescribed by ISO standards and EMAS rules. Thus, in brief, the two main benefits brought by adopting environmental management systems for building up a process for local players to share sustainability policies are: a common language and system that provides long-term guarantees for commitments undertaken. The choice of the tool is in any case only a starting point. What matters is the way the tool is used: improper use makes even the most efficient tool ineffective. The first aspect the Governance roundtable dealt with was to choose the strategy to reach integration: the starting point was a group of cities all with an environmental management system certified in compliance with ISO 14001:2004 standards and by 10 tourism facilities (marinas and golf courses) that had not yet their own environmental management system. One possible approach was to implement environmental management systems of facilities already integrated with city sustainability policies. Another option was chosen instead: integrate already established environmental management systems and so wait for each marina and golf course to 9

10 implement their environmental management systems before beginning to integrate them with city systems. The reason for this choice was the fact that integration between the environmental management systems of several organisations is a delicate process as it has an impact on parts of the system that are strategic for the organisation itself such as the environmental policy, important criteria of environmental aspects and objectives for improvement. The sharing of an organisation s environmental aspects with another body assumes a decision process that can be dealt with only by an organisation that is already familiar with an environmental management system. Therefore it was decided to integrate environmental management systems in two steps: STEP 1: integration between cities STEP 2: integration between cities and facilities (marinas and golf courses) 10

11 3.2 STEP 1: integration of city environmental policies The first issue to deal with for integration between the EMS of cities and that of project partners was to manage common decision processes. An important element that emerged is that the decision process should be placed on two levels: a political level and technical level. As much as it is fundamental to have shared political decisions in the beginning to instil common will and start the entire process, during the work, the technical level is also very important: this is the level that produces work documents to submit to the political level for approval and return for later operational phases. Two workgroups were created and experimented for the management of a supra-municipal governance system: - a technical roundtable consisting of city officials for the environment who already deal with city environmental management systems - a political roundtable consisting of mayors and/or city environmental council members The work of two levels was divided as follows: DIVISION OF DECISION LEVELS IN THE INTEGRATION PROCESS BETWEEN CITIES Political level : single roundtable of Mayors and city Environmental Council members Technical level : single roundtable of technical/environmental officials from the cities who also deal with environmental management systems THE POLITICAL LEVEL PROVIDES STRATEGIC DIRECTION THE TECNICAL LEVEL TRANSLATES THEM INTO FEASIBLE PLANS AND ACTIONS THE POLITICAL LEVEL ASSIGNS RESOURCES NEEDED THE TECHNICAL LEVEL USES THEM TO CARRY OUT ACTIONS AND MONITOR AND ASSESS RESULTS WITH TECHNICAL TOOLS THE POLITICAL LEVEL MONITORS AND ASSESSES RESULTS TAKING INTO ACCOUNT TECHNICAL REPORTS 11

12 To strengthen the foundations of such a work scheme, each city also submitted all the documents produced by the technical roundtable or political roundtable to Local Government for approval: this enabled step by step involvement for each body and constantly increasing responsibility of branches in city administration. Once the workgroups were created, the second important element for project success was the choice in approach that would most likely aid city decision processes: from the experience gained it was found that a process based on deduction, i.e. which from general tends to go into to approximate and growing detail, which aids the delicate process of mediation. To set up a shared environmental management methodology the following steps were taken: 1) Environmental aspects of the region First of all the concept of environmental aspect of the region was conceived and introduced i.e. an environmental aspect related to the entire region without separating the administrative boundaries of the various Local Bodies. These aspects of the region were determined by the technical roundtable starting off with a careful examination of the various local environmental aspects of each city and they were then submitted to city political organs for approval. The selected environmental aspects of the region are listed below: Cities of : ARENZANO, COGOLETO, VARAZZE, CELLE LIGURE, ALBISSOLA MARINA, ALBISOLA SUPERIORE ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE REGION 1. Territories in protected areas 2. Urban mobility 3. Waste management 4. Protection, use and coordinated management of the coast 5. Woodland assets In addition to conceiving the innovative concept of environmental aspect of the region, a positive environmental aspect was introduced which should also be mentioned: territories belonging to protected areas. This particular point, taken from the environmental management systems of each city, is of certain interest since it introduces a wider vision of a territory s environmental aspects: an environmental aspect is not only what introduces a negative change in the environment but also what brings about a positive change. 2) Regional criteria of significance When assessing the significance of environmental aspects found in the region, a series of criteria of significance were selected by the technical roundtable. At first they were expressed in a generic form to give the tool a certain degree of freedom to facilitate cities in the decision phase. At the same time, in order to aid the integration process, inspiration was taken from criteria selected by the cities to draft the first set of criteria for assessing significance of environmental aspects introduced in the emerging environmental management systems of marinas and golf courses. 12

13 The criteria of significance of the region adopted by the cities were drafted by the technical roundtable taking into consideration also the criteria adopted by each city in the relative environmental management systems. Cities of : ARENZANO, COGOLETO, VARAZZE, CELLE LIGURE, ALBISSOLA MARINA, ALBISOLA SUPERIORE CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE REGION a. Environmental impact has a negative effect on sustainable development (quality of life, health of residents/tourists, flora, fauna and eco-systems in general) b. The impact presents objective improvement margins c. The aspect is an important natural, cultural and/or tourism resource in the region d. The environmental aspect, dealt with on a regional level, enables management that is more efficient and effective than on a city level e. There is a common political will for managing the environmental aspect on a regional level f. There is a clear desire from residents/tourists for improved management of the environmental aspect (IF THERE IS AT LEAST ONE OF THE ABOVE CONDITIONS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT AND/OR RELATED IMPACT, THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED SIGNIFICANT. IF THERE IS NOT ANY OF THE ABOVE CONDITIONS THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT IS NOT SIGNIFICANT.) The existence of common political will to manage the environmental aspect on a regional level is certainly the most important: on a regional level it is first of all a common political vision that makes it important. Without such it would not be possible to start up any regional initiatives to manage the environmental aspect under consideration. From the application of the above criteria of environmental aspects of the region, the technical roundtable assessed the significance of all the other aspects considered. The assessment was carried out taking into consideration every environmental aspect in three possible operational conditions: normal, exceptional and urgent. The outcome of the assessment was then submitted to the political roundtable for assessment which then determined strategic guidelines for each one to define common objectives for improvement. The technical roundtable then translated the strategic guidelines into concrete objectives and actions for improvement, and then the political roundtable defined an intervention plan (defining timeframes and implementers) to reach the objectives. 3) Local sustainability plan The partner cities in the project then set a two-year intervention plan ( ) to improve the management of environmental aspects of the region. 13

14 Since they are regional objectives that involve all the cities, each city was put in charge of objectives for preliminary research and planning for the objective assigned Indicators of local sustainability At this point it became necessary to assess feedback from improvement actions and at the same time, thanks to the setting up of an effective common work system, it was possible to fine-tune criteria to assess the significance of environmental aspects. A set of indicators answered both of these needs. INDICATOR: Quantity variable or quality parameter on trends observed (also: a tool able to measure or provide a simplified representation of a complex issue) The indicators had to provide a report on the effect of improvement actions planned by the cities and at the same time represent the amount of impact each environmental aspect had in order to assess their significance in progress. So these indicators had to provide a representation to measure as much as possible the concepts expressed by the first criteria of significance selected by the region workgroup. Starting from these indicators it would thus be possible to build a new, more developed, set of significance criteria. Not only: even if the work of the governance roundtable started off for environmental management, the indicators that needed to be developed were for local sustainability, i.e. extending the performance they need to measure, from the environment to social and economic areas. For simplicity: out of the environmental aspects of the region taken into consideration by the governance roundtable, the aim was not only to assess environmental impact but also the impact on local sustainability or the socio-economic-environmental impact. These principles were already in the concepts expressed in the initial criteria for assessing the significance selected: e.g.: criterion c, which considers significant an environmental aspect that is of natural, cultural and/or tourism importance highlights, for instance in protected areas, not only environmental importance (natural) but also social importance (cultural) and economic importance (tourism). Or: criterion d, which considers significant an environmental aspect that when dealt with on a regional level it enables management that is more efficient and effective than on a city level, offers a concept of effectiveness and efficiency that is to be considered both for environmental protection and for economic and social opportunity. So the role of the set of indicators was to make the concepts expressed in the criteria of significance more objective, thus measurable, and more clearly identifiable in their environmental, social and economic worth. As an example, below is a list of indicators proposed for assessing the impact of Urban Mobility on local sustainability in the region. 14

15 Environmental aspect: URBAN MOBILITY ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATOR: - Ia2: Annual emissions of pollutants from traffic - Ia3: Noise pollution from traffic Social indicators: - Is4: Existence of documented protests (reports, complaints) concerning urban mobility Economic indicators: - Ie3: total amount of traffic through motorway toll stations in Arenzano, Varazze, Celle Ligure and Albisola. - le4: percentage change in total annual parking citations compared to the total number of citations in the region - le5: change in the number of annual street accidents in the region Criteria of significance ANSWER OF THE INDICATOR RESULT OF ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT Ia2: the figure is worse than the figure used as a reference (e.g.: figures required by standards or other average figures measuring quality) Ia2: the figure is the same or better than the figure used as a reference (e.g.: figures required by standards or other average figures measuring quality) Ia3: the figure is worse than the figure used as a reference (e.g.: figures required by standards or other average figures measuring quality) Ia3: the figure is the same or better than the figure used as a reference (e.g.: figures required by standards or other average figures measuring quality) Is4: YES Is4: No le3: the total figure increased by 3% compared to the previous year le3: the total figure decreased or increased by 3% compared to the previous year le4: the figure changed by less than 20 percentage points compared to the previous year SIGNIFICANT NOT SIGNIFICANT SIGNIFICANT NOT SIGNIFICANT SIGNIFICANT NOT SIGNIFICANT SIGNIFICANT NOT SIGNIFICANT SIGNIFICANT le4: the figure decreased by at least 20 percentage points compared to the NOT SIGNIFICANT 15

16 previous year le5: the figure increased or decreased by at least 10 percentage points compared to the previous year le5: the figure decreased by more than 10 percentage points compared to the previous year SIGNIFICANT NOT SIGNIFICANT N.B.: The indicators devised, even if they are specific to environmental aspects of the region of this project, adhere to general criteria directly inspired by sustainability principles included in the set of 10 indicators listed in 2000 by the European Commission: concerning the environmental area the indicators should show the level of environmental protection in place, concerning the social area the indicators should show the perceived level of the quality of life (resident satisfaction) and/or the accessibility to information and/or to services/benefits, concerning the economic area the indicators should show any waste in public and/or private economic resources and/or the existence of effective promotion of local employment and business Lastly, it should be mentioned that what is considered interesting and exportable to other local realities are not the indicators themselves but they are always relative to the specific reality where they are applied, as well as a logical and practical path, as outlined, that the project partners have followed for their definition and application. Through thorough gathering of data, the city partners of the project have populated the set of indicators provided. The outcome of this work has first of all confirmed the significance of environmental aspects of the region taken from an initial study when applying the first set of criteria of significance. However, the use of these indicators has added two fundamentally important elements to the assessment of significance of environmental aspects of the region: - for each aspect studied it was made clear if the aspect making it significant is social, economic, environmental or a combination - for many environmental aspects a starting figure of the indicators was given in order to objectively measure the socio-economic-environmental performance of the cities By the end of 2007, the actions included in the two-year plan will be terminated making it possible to measure environmental improvements in the region using this set of indicators. 3.3 STEP 2: integration of city environmental policies with the environmental policies of marinas and golf courses In coherence with the strategic approach decided at the beginning of the project, and so the one for integration using the tool of environmental management systems, as long as they are environmental management systems already underway, together with internal implementation at tourism facilities (marinas and golf courses) of relative environmental management systems, the governance roundtable initiated a study to develop a mechanism for integration between systems of Local Bodies with those of marinas and golf courses. A memorandum of understanding was found to be the most suitable tool to reconcile the difference in nature of a public body with a private organisation. Thus a memorandum of understanding was drafted to define the responsibilities the signers committed to in order to develop integration strategies between respective environmental management systems and to develop initiatives for collaboration to manage shared environmental aspects. 16

17 One of the most delicate aspects of a memorandum of understanding is that this type of agreement sometimes ends up being a simple statement of intent without any real definition or plan of action. To prevent this, and above all in coherence with the decision to use environmental management systems as a tool for integration, the memorandum of understanding expressly states that the process of integration is essentially based on the parties sharing their respective annual reports on their environmental management systems (see art. 4 City Commitments and art. 5 Facility Commitments), required by both ISO and by EMAS. Under art. 6, Implementation method, of the memorandum, a detailed definition was also included on which elements of the systems should be changed to bring about and manage the integration process in the long term. To strengthen even further the commitment taken on by the signers of the memorandum of understanding, under art. 6 the signers expressly commit to submitting the memorandum of understanding and its amendments to the certification body during inspections so that they can assess whether the requirements they committed to have been met. The city of Garlenda, the Golf Club of Garlenda and Sige Srl collaborated in drafting the model for the memorandum of understanding. It was then applied to other cities: as at October 2006 the memoranda of understanding for Albisola Superiore, Celle Ligure and Varazze were signed. 17

18 The articles mentioned above are provided below: (..omissis ) Memorandum of Understanding Article 4. Commitments of the City The City of Garlenda commits to: checking and bringing the contents of their environmental management documentation into line with this act; sharing their improvement objectives with the Garlenda Golf Club after reviewing their Environmental Management System; developing joint actions especially concerning: o Waste management, in particular for what concerns maintenance of green areas (Green maintenance) o Energy saving o Water saving o Providing information on environmental issues to users and members of the Garlenda Golf Club and residents in surrounding areas. Article 5. Commitments of the Garlenda Golf Club The Garlenda Golf Club commits to: checking and bringing the contents of their environmental management documentation into line with this act; sharing their improvement objectives with the City of Garlenda after reviewing their Environmental Management System; developing joint actions especially concerning o Waste management, in particular for what concerns maintenance of green areas (Green maintenance) o Energy saving o Water saving o Providing information on environmental issues to users and members of the Garlenda Golf Club and residents in surrounding areas. 18

19 Memorandum of Understanding Article 6. Means of implementation To implement what is set forth in articles 5 and 6, a Technical Committee and Political Committee shall be set up consisting of representatives from both of the signing parties; in particular the Technical Committee shall be represented by Environmental Management Supervisors (EMS) from the City of Garlenda and the Garlenda Golf Club and the Political Committee shall be represented by Executive Representatives (ER) (or by the Mayor and President) from the City of Garlenda and the Garlenda Golf Club. (appointments to be checked) For what concerns bringing the respective environmental systems in line with the contents of this act, the parties commit to: - changing system documentation (procedures, manuals and any other system documentation) related to points in the ISO 14001:2004 standards listed below in order to incorporate the contents of this act: o Resources, roles, responsibilities and authority (assign roles and responsibilities for the Technical Committee and Political Committee mentioned in art. 6 of this act) o Objectives, milestones and Programme(s) (specify the moment to share improvement objectives between the parties involved in this act as set forth in articles 4 and 5 and specify the means) o 4.6 Executive Review (when the Executive Management of the two parties carry out their review, ensure debate on issues that arose when sharing improvement objectives or where deemed useful, share the Executive Reviews directly) Submit this memorandum of understanding and its amendments to the certification Body during inspections so they can check adherence to the commitments undertaken (..omissis ) 19

20 The head of the project, Regione Liguria, played a very important role in the success of the integration work developed by the governance roundtable and the roundtable on environmental management systems. It is interesting to note that the cities participating in the project developed and maintained in time the ability to manage integrated sustainability actions that began with the Haven project and continued with PHAROS, despite the absence of region coordination bodies such as Mountain Communities or Park Management Bodies, despite belonging to two different provinces and despite the different political make-up of the Administrations involved. Regione Liguria gathered the cities together and coordinated actions. It is felt that the strength of regional coordination in this type of action is in the fact that the Region is in itself an administrative Body that is more distant from the specific local issues of the cities and so it is able to coordinate above the parties more lightly, i.e. providing strategic coordination and so less invasive. It should also not be overlooked the fact that the Region, as a Body for planning and distribution of financial resources, exercises a certain degree of political power over the cities, thereby contributing to keeping alive and constant over time the commitment of Local Administrations. 3.4 EMAS AS A TOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN PLEASURE CRAFT MARINAS AND GOLF COURSES (By Ms Ingrid Barile Sige Srl) The paragraphs above outlined how an ISO and EMAS Environmental Management system is a valid tool to manage the integration of sustainability policies of local players. Beyond this aspect, adhering to EMAS rules is an important means for golf courses and marinas to reach, maintain and progressively improve their environmental quality. Beyond the necessary commitment to protect the eco-system, there is another aspect that makes environmental quality particularly important for facilities such as golf courses and marinas. Golf courses and marinas share two features: - among the service facilities dedicated to tourism and/or free time, these are the ones that gain the most benefit from the natural beauty in their area - however, at the same time, paradoxically they are also among those that can have the most negative environmental impact if they are not designed and managed well. For facilities such as golf courses and marinas, environmental protection is therefore also an essential element for their survival. At this point it is interesting to briefly study what are the potential critical environmental elements related to the presence of a golf course or a marina and what are the benefits of adopting an EMAS environmental management system. As seen in the technical attachments on ISO standards and EMAS rules, the first step is to carry out an environmental study aimed at determining all the environmental aspects (direct and indirect) of the facility under examination and the assessment of the related environmental impact. In practice, for this task, the technical team in charge of implementing the environmental management system for the marinas and golf course partners of the project, first of all conducted an on-site visit to determine what are the activities and services carried out directly or indirectly at the facilities and the context in which they operate. Once this information was obtained, the technical roundtable then drafted a general scheme to gather detailed information necessary to conduct an environmental study. This scheme was first transformed into a questionnaire that was submitted for assessment to the workgroup that participated in the second open group of 19 July The workgroup found the scheme thorough and straight forward for gathering information and also provided useful 20

21 recommendations on which information needed for environmental studies could be gathered by the marina or golf course independently and which would probably require specific external technical expertise. From the work of the open group a list of information needed to conduct an environmental study for marinas and golf courses was drafted which was then used by the technical team to gather information from partner facilities. They found it an excellent tool which was appreciated also by the facilities involved. Concerning the scheme for gathering information from golf courses, a questionnaire was used from a previous European project of the Italian Golf Federation called Committed to green. This questionnaire was duly integrated. Using the information gathered, following the outline of the questionnaire, the technical team then produced a final report for each partner facility showing the outcome of the environmental studies. Together with the environmental study, an accurate assessment was made on their adherence to applicable environmental standards. The study carried out showed a set of environmental aspects directly and indirectly related to marinas and golf courses. It was found that the marinas find waste management particularly delicate. There are many activities that generate waste, some of which is classified as hazardous (batteries, oil) in addition to liquid waste from boats such as bilge water and waste water. Another important aspect concerns water quality in the area of the marina for which there are many elements that affect it and they are not always easy to manage. In golf courses an important aspect is related to the responsible use of substances needed to grow and maintain the greens and the impact of the facility on local bio-diversity. The consumption of energy is important to both types of facilities. It is not by chance that the above environmental aspects and the related impact were the subject of studies conducted by scientific partners of the PHAROS project. They defined a series of environmental good practices specific to marinas and golf courses. The last chapter of these guidelines is dedicated entirely to these studies. The direct and indirect environmental aspects determined were assessed by their significance using a set of indicators created also in collaboration with scientific partners. The aim of this set of indicators is two-fold: provide quantity parameters, i.e. measurable, for significance assessment of environmental impact and enable a measurement of obtainable improvements on environmental performance of the facilities by applying the management programmes for environmental management systems. After taking the first important step of determining and assessing the direct and indirect environmental aspects of the facilities, the project technical team implemented an ISO and EMAS compliant environmental management system at every facility (the requirements are outlined in the technical document on the two standards on CD) and then the EMAS environmental statement was drafted. Once inspected by the accredited environmental auditor and registered by the certifying body, the environmental statements of the facilities will be made public also on the Regione Liguria Website. The experience gained stresses why EMAS is an excellent tool to manage environmental quality for facilities such as marinas and golf courses. Both in marinas and golf courses the potential environmental impact is from two distinct origins: from activities performed directly by facility workers for operations and maintenance ( direct environmental aspects ) and/or from activities performed by third parties: those using the facilities ( indirect environmental aspects ) and/or service activities within or nearby the facilities managed by other parties. 21