Landscape-Recreational Value: A Resource for Local Development—First Results from a Survey in a Small Mountain Valley (Sinello Valley, Vallarsa, Northern Italy)

The landscape fulfils many different functions and provides multiple benefits in terms of goods and services for human society. For this reason, it must be conserved in its diversity, complexity and functionality. The aim of this paper is to identify which conditions have to be developed to transform the environmental features of a particular area into a source of income for the local population, and thus to set the basis for conserving natural capital by means of a management process. This opportunity results from a change in the willingness to pay (WTP) declared by the actors potentially interested in the characteristics of a given area. Clearly, modifying the WTP may imply, in some cases, the conservation of a specific site through profit-oriented management. This type of activity allows us to minimize the costs for public agencies as well as to ensure long-term sustainability. We evaluate all of this by means of three different contingent valuation surveys conducted in Sinello Valley, which is located in the north-east of Trentino (Italy).