Landscape management and economic evaluation of the ecosystem services of the vineyards

Abstract

The contribution aims to highlight the relationship between the business economy applied to viticulture and the ecosystem. The concepts of ecosystem services and viticultural biodiversity are seen in order to provide a new perspective for the development of a more sustainable business management. The work contributes to enriching the economic literature by introducing the relationship between ecosystem and business. The new perspective helps to place the company within the wider ecological-social system, favoring a more consistent interpretation of the relationship of exchange (impact and dependence) of resources with nature. The work proposes a methodology for calculating the ecosystem service rendered by the vineyards cultivated in the Sicilian hills. The conceptual scheme and the methodology adopted highlight the value of the ecosystem service. Certainly, for the future, it is necessary to create business models where ecosystem services find a remuneration as the entrepreneur is led to adopt cultivation practices in this sense only if he finds a remuneration from the public or private sector. Ecosystem services are important to protect the landscape and the environment. The paper proposes a land management method that respects the environmental balance. This approach leads to long-term value creation at both the micro and macroeconomic levels.