The reason why

Rural ecosystems for sustainable regional development

Rural ecosystems, supporting 45% of the global population and rich in natural resources, are crucial for achieving sustainable regional development and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Recognizing this, the European Union’s Green Deal emphasizes empowering rural areas to build resilience and support sustainable futures across both rural and urban areas. Rural regions provide essential ecosystem services (like food, water, and carbon storage) that underpin urban development and well-being, highlighting the critical interdependence between rural and urban areas. However, the role of these rural-urban linkages in regional development is often underappreciated, and improved frameworks are needed to fully measure their contributions.

The United Nations’ System of Environmental and Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA)

The 2021 System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) marks significant progress toward integrating the value of nature into national economic accounts. SEEA-EA provides a framework for organizing ecosystem data, assessing ecosystem services and conditions, and linking this data to economic metrics. While initial studies have begun, Italy has yet to implement SEEA-EA fully, as foundational data is still missing. Effective application of SEEA-EA at regional and sub-regional levels, crucial for local policy and resource management, requires thorough testing and guidelines to ensure alignment with national accounts.

From siloed thinking to nexus approaches

Viewing rural and urban areas as separate domains is outdated, especially given global challenges like climate change, food security, and political instability. The UN’s Agenda 2030 and the EU’s Green Deal highlight the need for integrated, coherent policies to meet sustainability goals. An "ecosystem nexus" approach—examining how human activities interact with natural systems—can reveal crucial synergies and trade-offs between rural and urban areas, supporting more coordinated and effective policy interventions. This approach, rooted in the FAO's nexus framework, enables assessments that improve understanding of rural-urban connections and foster alignment across policy domains.

The ecosystem nexus challenges and solutions

Ecosystem nexus assessments face significant methodological challenges due to the complexities of social-ecological systems, such as varying scales, regional differences, and non-linear dynamics. Key research questions include: i) how to measure the ecosystem service (ES) capacity of rural environments, ii) how to quantify the flow of ES between rural and urban areas, including socio-economic dimensions, and iii) how to perform coherent policy evaluations. Addressing these challenges requires overcoming disciplinary silos in nexus assessments through mixed methods that integrate social and political contexts, employ interdisciplinary approaches, and actively involve stakeholders. This approach aims to bridge disciplinary gaps and enhance the relevance and coherence of nexus assessments for policy-making.