sustainability Article Military Training Areas as Semicommons: The Territorial Valorization of Quirra (Sardinia) from y Easements to Ecosystem Services Ginevra Balletto 1 , Alessandra Milesi 1, Nicolò Fenu 1, Giuseppe Borruso 2,* and Luigi Mundula 1 1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliari (DICAAR), 09123 Cagliari, Italy; [email protected] (G.B.); [email protected] (A.M.); [email protected] (N.F.); [email protected] (L.M.) 2 Department of Economics, Business, Mathematics and Statistics “Bruno de Finetti” (DEAMS), Trieste University, 34127 Trieste, Italy * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +39-040-558-7008 This article is part of the work of drafting the Municipal Urban Plan of Villaputzu (MUPV) and in the related y coastal use plan (LCP) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA): Scientific coordinator Ginevra Balletto. Participated in: MUPV, LCP, and SEA Alessandra Milesi and LCP Nicolò Fenu. Received: 24 October 2019; Accepted: 8 January 2020; Published: 15 January 2020 Abstract: The paper addresses the issue of the concurrent use of coastal areas for military training and civil activities, namely tourism. In the paper, starting from the consideration of publicly owned assets as ‘semi-commons’, we propose a method based on the comparison of planning instruments related to the different uses, and try to model them in a grid, where different weights and degrees of evaluation can be considered, in order to promote, rather than blocking, possible activities, compatible with concurrent use. The military areas in Sardinia (region and island, Italy) are around 234 km2, which constitutes 60% of the national surface affected by military easements. This situation is due to its geographic position, considered centrality in the Mediterranean for strategic reasons. This contribution evaluates the performance of the Local Coastline Plan (LCP) and the Site management plan of Community Interest (SCI) in conditions of military constraint. The case study is the municipality of Villaputzu South Sardinia, Italy), where an important coastal military easement and the use of the coast for recreational tourism purposes coexist together through specific planning, a consequence of institutional agreements between the Municipal Administration of Villaputzu and the Ministry of Defense. The idea is considering the concurrent possible land uses guaranteed by the different planning instruments, instead of focusing, as it is generally the rule, on the sum of constraints provided by the laws. The local coastline plan has been identified as the ideal planning tool, which addresses the co-existence of apparently opposite land uses and interests, as those expressed by the local municipal planning and those expressed by the military. An evaluation of the congruence of the specific objectives of the LCP and SCI shows how their combined action favors the environmental enhancement of Sardinia, contributing to the formation of ecosystem services, even in particular conditions arising from military easements. These are sites that evolve from ‘anticommons’ to ‘semicommons’. In fact, the military release process in Sardinia, together with the promiscuous military and civil use, activates unique governance policies of their kind that find a significant field of application in Sardinia to guarantee sustainable renewal of economic development of the ‘semi-commons’ awaiting to become ‘commons’. Keywords: landscape connectivity; Natura 2000 network; strategic environmental assessment; protected areas and spatial planning; semi-commons; ecosystem services Sustainability 2020, 12, 622; doi:10.3390/su12020622 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability Sustainability 2020, 12, 622 2 of 20 Sustainability 2020, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 20 1. Introduction 1. Introduction State property indicates a set of publicly owned assets very different from each other. The state propertyState ‘Demanio’ property indicates (as in the a set Italian of publicly Civil Law, owned art. assets 822 very and different following) from consists, each other. among The others,state ofproperty the maritime ‘Demanio’ and water(as in the state Italian properties Civil Law, (all art. water 822 bodiesand following) and part consists, of lands among touched others, by of water), the maritime and water state properties (all water bodies and part of lands touched by water), military military property (land and ad hoc infrastructure for national defense) and ‘accidental’ state property property (land and ad hoc infrastructure for national defense) and ‘accidental’ state property (transport infrastructure, cultural buildings and sites). It finally consists of the other assets that are (transport infrastructure, cultural buildings and sites). It finally consists of the other assets that are by law subject to the regime proper to the public domain. Such assets can also belong to the regions, by law subject to the regime proper to the public domain. Such assets can also belong to the regions, metropolitan cities, provinces, or municipalities—the intermediate administrative partitions in Italian metropolitan cities, provinces, or municipalities—the intermediate administrative partitions in system - equally subject to the state property regime. Public use is exercised on state property [1], Italian system - equally subject to the state property regime. Public use is exercised on state property i.e., the community can enjoy its benefits directly, as in the case of beaches or museums [2], or indirectly, [1], i.e., the community can enjoy its benefits directly, as in the case of beaches or museums [2], or inindirectly, the case of in ports the case or airports.of ports or The airports. main The characteristic main characteristic of these of goods these isgoods their is inalienability, their inalienability, as they canas neitherthey can be neither sold—except be sold—except by a specific by a newspecific law—nor new law—nor can they can be they subject be subject to rights to inrights favor in offavor third parties,of third except parties, in theexcept ways in andthe ways limits and established limits established by the laws by concerningthe laws concerning them (Nav. them Code (Nav. 30 etCode seq.). They30 et always seq.). They remain always state remain owned state even owned if abandoned even if abandoned for a long time.for a long Among time. the Among assets the owned assets by theowned public, by thosethe public, relating those to relating military to uses military also uses take al onso particular take on particular importance importance in relation in relation to the to fact thatthe military fact that defense military is defense configured, is configured, in strictly in economic strictly economic terms, as terms, a pure as public a pure good—non public good—non rival and non-excludable—andrival and non-excludable—and therefore, as therefore, an asset, as the an benefits asset, the of whichbenefits fall of indistinctly which fall onindistinctly the totality on ofthe the population,totality of the a fact population, that partly a fact explains that partly the huge explai amountns the huge of financial amount resources of financial that resources the various that statesthe allocatevarious [3 ].states After allocate a descending [3]. After phase a descending in the 1990s, phase starting in the from 1990s, 2000, starting military from spending 2000, hasmilitary in fact beenspending continuously has in fact growing. been continuously growing. MoreMore specifically specifically as as in in Figure Figure1, 1, in in 2018, 2018, the the United United States States of of America America was was the the leading leading country country in militaryin military spending spending ofthe of the sector, sector, with with 649 649 billion billion dollars dollars - - worthworth 36%36% of th thee world world military military spending spending andand 3.2% 3.2% of of its its Gross Gross Domestic Domestic Product Product (GDP), (GDP), followed followed by by China China with with 250 250 billion billion dollars—14% dollars—14% of of the worldthe world military military spending spending and 1.9%and 1.9% of its of GDP. its GDP. FigureFigure 1. 1. WorldWorld military military expenditure, expenditure, by byregion, region, 1988–201 1988–20188 (Source: (Source: Sipri, 2019. Sipri, Available 2019. Availableonline: online:https://www.sipri.org/research/armament-an https://www.sipri.org/research/armament-and-disarmamentd-disarmament/arms-transfers-and-military-/arms-transfers-and-military- spendingspending/military-expenditure)./military-expenditure). InIn this this ranking, ranking, Italy Italy occupies occupies 11th11th place,place, with 27.8 27.8 billion billion dollars dollars (equal (equal to to 1.5% 1.5% of of the the World World spendingspending and and 1.3% 1.3% of of its its GDP). GDP). The Th statee state properties, properties, on on the the one one hand, hand, can can be tracedbe traced back back to the to so-calledthe so- ‘enclaves’,called ‘enclaves’, which are which closed are areasclosed defined areas defined by administrative by administrative or cultural or cultural characteristics characteristics diff erentdifferent from from the surrounding territory and on the other hand, they have characteristics typical of the so- Sustainability 2020, 12, 622 3 of 20 theSustainability surrounding 2020, 11 territory, x FOR PEER and REVIEW on the other hand, they have characteristics typical of the so-called3 of 20 ‘anticommons’, first introduced by Michelman in 1982,