Measuring sustainability in a Sicilian eco-village
There is growing interest amongst both local communities and policy makers in improving the sustainability of local communities. However, developing accurate measures of sustainability has been problematic because a wide range of parameters need to be considered, from energy use through to monetary flows. New research shows that 'emergy' analysis can be applied to evaluate the sustainability of a small rural community.
Emergy analysis can be used to measure all inputs of energy and resources used to develop a given product or process. This includes both current and historical inputs as well as direct and indirect inputs into the product or process. To allow comparison between different types of energy inputs, all energy flows are converted into a single form of energy, such as solar energy.
Italian researchers applied the emergy analysis to an 'eco-village' in Sicily. Eco-villages are urban or rural communities of people striving to integrate a supportive social environment with a low-impact way of life. A sustainable village is committed to protecting, preserving and restoring the natural environment, by integrating ecological design and building methods, green production and alternative energy. It aims to achieve a lifestyle that can be successfully continued into the indefinite future.
The site under investigation was an 88 hectare farm in the south-east of Sicily - 51 hectares were used for agriculture and 37 hectares were woods, fruit trees and grazing. A lagoon was planned to purify the wastewater from the village, there was an onsite bakery, hotel, craft workshop, hall and gym and communal kitchen and laundry areas. A photovoltaic system produced electricity, solar panels produced domestic hot water and low-energy light bulbs were used. Local timber was derived from managed forests and local stone was used for construction.
Three main input flows were identified - local renewable, local non-renewable and purchased or imported flows. These three flows were used to calculate:
- the environmental loading ratio (ELR) - the ratio of purchased and non-renewable inputs to renewable inputs
- the emergy yield ratio (EYR) - the emergy of the yield or output of the village divided by the emergy of inputs from outside the system
- sustainability index (SI) - the extent to which a process is environmentally friendly
The researchers used these indicators to evaluate energy production, the wastewater system and agriculture practices. Local renewable energy accounted for 67 per cent of the total output of the village. The village's sustainability index was calculated as 6.68, compared with an SI for Italy as a whole of 0.17. An SI of less than 1 indicates a highly-developed, consumer-oriented economy with a high degree of non-renewable energy use and large imports of purchased energy and materials. In contrast, the economy of the eco-village showed it was a model for more sustainable development.
The researchers concluded that emergy analysis is an appropriate methodology for evaluating complex systems as every type of flow, including monetary and information, can be taken into account. This contrasts with other forms of analysis, such as life-cycle analyses that evaluate material flows but not services or information.
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