Speaker
Description
In some territories, food systems characterised by highly competitive agricultural productions (as for instance grape and wine) have favoured – over the last years – a cascading local development process, projecting premier wine-regions into a global market. Supported by pro-growth local and national agendas, these territories – often referred to as agro-industrial – represent, to all intents and purposes, areas of specialised and intensive production, whose economies call for strong drives towards innovation, optimisation, and almost always outright exploitation in the use of resources. Policy agendas, however, often clash with the impacts that these dynamics generate. Market-led intensive agricultural productions, indeed, often pay very little attention to the socio-ecological impacts triggered by the so-called “monocultures”.
In recent years, the Veneto Region (North-Eastern Italy) has become the most relevant Italian Region in terms of wine production and exports. This result is mainly due to the increasing international demand for the Prosecco sparkling wine, that has undoubtedly contributed to Italy’s positioning among European Union Member States and other Countries. However, the “vineyard rush” affecting the Region has also led to several consequences in terms of land-use and landscape modifications, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, and public health issues connected to the massive use of chemicals by wine-growers. This situation is also exacerbated by an intense social conflict that has spread throughout the territory.
This contribution makes public some of the results of a study conducted by the author in the last years, with the aim of mapping and assessing the spatial changes related to the intensification of wine-growing in Veneto. From a theoretical perspective, it seeks to draw new perspectives and connections between vineyard sprawl and land-use change, two categories whose links are still rarely investigated today within the spatial planning field. Empirical evidence derives from a cluster analysis performed to group Veneto Region’s Municipalities according to the different spatial patterns and trends of such a recent vineyard expansion. Specifically, through multivariate statistical methods (Principal Components Analysis and K-means clustering), five clusters of Municipalities were recognised in terms of geographical, demographic, urban characteristics, the spread of the surface under vines, and its consequences as regards the loss of biodiversity and the land-use substitution effect (namely the conversion of other crops and the progressive removal of natural habitats): i) hilly territories of the historical production areas with consolidated wine-growing specialisation; ii) flat rururban territories with a high density of vineyards and significant environmental impacts; iii) flat agricultural territories subject to the recent dynamics of vineyard sprawl; iv) flat urbanised territories with low diffusion of vineyards; and v) mountainous territories subject to recent dynamics of viticultural colonisation. Beyond quantitative data, a set of maps, satellite photos and evocative pictures will also be presented to help readers – especially those who are not familiar with these places and this phenomenon – better understand the pace and scale of the ongoing spatial transformations affecting the Region.
This study may be significant for two main reasons. On the one hand, research results seek to advance the planning scholarly research that deals with the land-use modifications associated with the spatial and economic intensification of intensive agriculture such as wine-growing. On the other hand, they provide a detailed overview of the territorial impacts generated by the wine economy in Veneto, according to different clusters of Municipalities. This knowledge can be used by policymakers at the regional scale to better design policies aimed at governing vineyard sprawl and promoting more sustainable (and just) viticultural practices, as well as enhancing the quality of life of citizens.
References
Brenner, N. and Katsikis, N. (2020) “Operational Landscapes: Hinterlands of the Capitalocene”. Architectural Design, 22-31.
Franco, S., Pancino, B., Martella, A. and De Gregorio, T. (2022) “Assessing the Presence of a Monoculture: From Definition to Quantification”. Agriculture 12(9), 1506.
Pappalardo, S.E., Gislimberti, L., Ferrarese, F., De Marchi, M., Mozzi, P., 2019. Estimation of potential soil erosion in the Prosecco DOCG area (NE Italy), toward a soil footprint of bottled sparkling wine production in different land-management scenarios. PLoS ONE 14 (5), e0210922
Zollet, S., Maharjan, K.L., (2021) “Resisting the vineyard invasion: Anti-pesticide movements as a vehicle for territorial food democracy and just sustainability transitions. Journal of Rural Studies 86. 318-329.
| Keywords | wine-growing; vineyard sprawl; Prosecco wine; cluster analysis; land-use change |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
