Ecosystem accounting for marine-based tourism provided by Posidonia oceanica in Italy

Alice Bartolini, Valentina Di Gennaro, Vittoria Reas, Rosa Anna Mascolo, Alessandra La Notte, Alessio Capriolo, Silvia Ferrini

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Abstract

This work presents the first ecosystem accounts for Marine-Based Tourism (MBT) in Italy. We develop a methodological approach to connect biophysical and economic information required to fill ecosystem accounting supply and use tables. Coherent with the System of Environmental Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) framework, this approach starts by estimating the extent and the condition of marine ecosystems, showing the urgency in improving the availability, organisation and accessibility of biophysical data. This work provides valuable insights into understanding MBT from an ecosystem accounting perspective. We focus on the Posidonia oceanica and its role in the MBT sector in Italy, providing a physical quantification of such contribution and converting this flow into monetary terms. Our findings show that such habitat significantly contributes to the tourism sector, resulting in exchange values of MBT of €6 million in 2019 and €3.7 million in 2021.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere129751
JournalOne Ecosystem
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Sept 2024

Keywords

  • ecosystem accounting
  • ecosystem services
  • Posidonia oceanica
  • supply and use tables
  • tourism

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