Kostas Bithas

The European Policy on Water Use at the Urban Level in the Context of the Water Framework Directive. Effectiveness, Appropriateness and Efficiency

The current European policy on water resources use in cities is undergoing radical reform in an attempt to confront the water quality problems and the dramatically intensified water scarcity. Among the most elaborate documents concerning current water policy is the Water Framework Directive (WFD), which spells out the targets of water policy at the European level. The confrontation of water scarcity, deterioration in quality, and the reduction in costs of the water supply industry emerge as decisive principles of the new European policy on water use in cities. These targets are currently assimilated in the agendas of national water policies in almost all European countries. To achieve these objectives several policy instruments have been applied in Europe. The more prevailing instruments are: demand management, privatization of water companies and efficient/full cost pricing of water use. The present article aims at systematically evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the current water policy for urban systems, by examining the coherence of its instruments as well as their appropriateness for achieving the policys targets. To start with, the paper presents an elementary economic analysis of the current water policy. The effects of the most common policy instruments are systematically traced in the framework of economic analysis. Next, three indicative case cities are presented and examined. As it turns out, however, the results of the implementation of the main instruments are contradictory. This drastically reduces the effectiveness of the water policy. We indicate that these contradictory effects are inherent in the water policy and originate in the lack of appropriate social processes and institutions for the management of natural resources.

The Water Framework Directive in Greece. Estimating the Environmental and Resource Cost in the Water Districts of Western and Central Macedonia: Methods, Results and Proposals for Water Pricing☆

Abstract The EU, understanding the need for sustainable management of water resources, established a framework for community action in the field of water policy under the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). Results reveal that an essential condition for sustainable water management is the understanding of its true value. Correct pricing of water helps to improve services for water distribution and also contributes to its preservation. Therefore, the aim of this paper is the presentation of the methods of calculating the environmental and resource cost, their application in a particular study area (Water Districts of Central and Western Macedonia, Greece) and the conclusions following from the estimations. After extensive literature review it was found that there is not a perfectly acceptable method of calculating the environmental and resource cost of water. What is more, the pricing of water use is necessary because water use requires actions having a direct economic cost, as well as ‘external’ costs to society such as the environmental and resource cost. Prices in a “justified” pricing model should reflect the recovery of full cost aiming at maximizing social welfare, preventing the exploitation of resources and securing access to water to the socially vulnerable members of society.

Economic appraisal of the public control and prevention strategy against the 2010 West Nile Virus outbreak in Central Macedonia, Greece

OBJECTIVES The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the economic efficiency of the public control and prevention strategies to tackle the 2010 West Nile Virus (WNV) outbreak in the Region of Central Macedonia, Greece. Efficiency is examined on the basis of the public prevention costs incurred and their potential in justifying the costs arising from health and nuisance impacts in the succeeding years. STUDY DESIGN Economic appraisal of public health management interventions. METHODS Prevention and control cost categories including control programmes, contingency planning and blood safety testing, are analyzed based on market prices. A separate cost of illness approach is conducted for the estimation of medical costs and productivity losses from 2010 to 2013 and for the calculation of averted health impacts. The averted mosquito nuisance costs to households are estimated on the basis of a contingent valuation study. Based on these findings, a limited cost-benefit analysis is employed in order to evaluate the economic efficiency of these strategies in 2010-2013. RESULTS Results indicate that cost of illness and prevention costs fell significantly in the years following the 2010 outbreak, also as a result of the epidemic coming under control. According to the contingent valuation survey, the annual average willingness to pay to eliminate the mosquito problem in the study area ranged between 22 and 27 € per household. Cost-benefit analysis indicates that the aggregate benefit of implementing the previous 3-year strategy creates a net socio-economic benefit in 2013. However the spread of the WNV epidemic and the overall socio-economic consequences, had the various costs not been employed, remain unpredictable and extremely difficult to calculate. CONCLUSIONS The application of a post epidemic strategy appears to be of utmost importance for public health safety. An updated well designed survey is needed for a more precise definition of the optimum prevention policies and levels and for the establishment of the various cost/benefit parameters.

Integration of ecological–biological thresholds in conservation decision making

In the Anthropocene, coupled human and natural systems dominate and only a few natural systems remain relatively unaffected by human influence. On the one hand, conservation criteria based on areas of minimal human impact are not relevant to much of the biosphere. On the other hand, conservation criteria based on economic factors are problematic with respect to their ability to arrive at operational indicators of well-being that can be applied in practice over multiple generations. Coupled human and natural systems are subject to economic development which, under current management structures, tends to affect natural systems and cross planetary boundaries. Hence, designing and applying conservation criteria applicable in real-world systems where human and natural systems need to interact and sustainably coexist is essential. By recognizing the criticality of satisfying basic needs as well as the great uncertainty over the needs and preferences of future generations, we sought to incorporate conservation criteria based on minimal human impact into economic evaluation. These criteria require the conservation of environmental conditions such that the opportunity for intergenerational welfare optimization is maintained. Toward this end, we propose the integration of ecological-biological thresholds into decision making and use as an example the planetary-boundaries approach. Both conservation scientists and economists must be involved in defining operational ecological-biological thresholds that can be incorporated into economic thinking and reflect the objectives of conservation, sustainability, and intergenerational welfare optimization.

Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1895) (Diptera: Culicidae) in Greece: 13 years of living with the Asian tiger mosquito

Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse, 1895) (Diptera: Culicidae), commonly known as the Asian tiger mosquito, is an invasive mosquito species of public health significance, well established in many countries worldwide. In Greece, it was first recorded in Corfu and Thesprotia between 2003 and 2004. In the following years, further distribution and establishment of Ae. albopictus in Greece have been confirmed in many Regional Units of the country. In the current study, we report the invasion history of Ae. albopictus in Greece, until 2016. The results from the entomological investigation following imported virus cases in 2014, 2015, and 2016 are also included. Moreover, its presence in Greece is demonstrated in a thematic map based on (a) information provided by pest control companies and/or citizens, (b) the official samples sent to Benaki Phytopathological Institute (BPI) and the National School of Public Health (NSPH), and (c) the entomological surveillance conducted by the BPI.

A Brief History of Energy Use in Human Societies

Energy has always been among the most essential resources that endorses the progress, evolution and prosperity of human societies. This chapter aspires to provide a brief overview of historical evolution of energy use by human beings, from the discovery of fire and the agricultural revolution, to the industrial revolution and the domination of fossil fuels. By using historical evidence and brief diagrams, the narration provides a synoptic description of the unique and continuous quest of mankind for energy resources, unveiling the crucial role that energy still plays in modern economic systems as being the essential fuel of the economic process.

Renewable energy and energy-saving initiatives in Greece: policy and experience

Energy policy is a key issue for economic and environmental policies. Indeed, energy is an indispensable element for economic development while, on the other hand, it causes severe environmental problems. In this context, a pressure for using renewable energy resources and for energy saving has emerged and expanded in recent years. As a result, energy policy is being reoriented under the new conditions. This paper examines this reorientation and its results in Greece where the bioclimatic conditions are in favour of renewable energy resources and energy-saving projects.

An Approach to Modelling User Interests Using TF-IDF and Fuzzy Sets Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Modelling and understanding user interests are particularly important tasks for designing services and building systems for customized solutions in web personalization and recommender systems. User generated content (UGC) constitutes a significant source of information for capturing user interests. This paper, suggests an approach to user profiling that analyses the Term Frequency (TF) and the Inverse Document Frequency (IDF) of selected tourism services by utilising the Fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (FsQCA). It analyses a sample of customer reviews that are collected from tourism web sites. This paper considers the amount of money that customers spent during their hotel stay, as the outcome set in the FsQCA analysis. The results produce causal combinations of services that are necessary and sufficient for building customer interests models that best lead to the outcome and argue for the applicability of the FsQCA in modelling user interests.

The impact of a public information campaign on preferences for marine environmental protection. The case of plastic waste

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a public information campaign, which was conducted on a major Greek Island (Syros), aimed at reducing plastic waste - and specifically plastic bags - in the local coastal/marine environment. A choice experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects on individual preferences for reducing plastic waste pollution under different status of environmental awareness, after the information campaign. The evaluation process was quite independent of the information campaign. Two samples of respondents were taken; one consisting of participants in the environmental campaign and the other consisting of non-participants. The results show: (a) significant differences between the preferences of the two samples; (b) variations in the willingness to pay values between the two samples for protection of the coastal/marine environment, but; (c) not significant differences in their commitment to take action (i.e. in their willingness to alter their current plastic bag use behavior).

Defining the Energy Resources

What is energy? This chapter endeavors to answer the anterior question by providing definitions of energy from the viewpoint of physics, and discusses the various forms that energy takes so as to serve the human needs. The issue of energy aggregation is of paramount importance for comparing and evaluating different forms of energy. In this context, the present chapter describes and classifies the most widely utilized methodologies in energy measurement.