This study focused on new pressures on water resources in relation to the production of renewable energy in Italy. In particular, I considered the conflicts that have emerged in the Trentino region around mini-hydroelectric power production. Literature critiquing the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) approach provided the basis for analyzing the characteristics of this opposition movement. I argue that the anti-mini-hydro movements only partially challenge the NIMBY definition. At the discursive level, such mobilizations articulate a broader discourse opposing minihydroelectric production as a climate change mitigation strategy and promoting a vision of the river as biodiversity to be protected. Moreover, at the sociospatial level, the anti-mini-hydro movements reveal an ability to forge alliances among different sectors of broader society. However, no broader discourse is articulated on the energy transition. The anti-mini-hydro movement can therefore be characterized as a form of ‘‘localist environmentalism’’ combining place attachment and nature conservation.

Beyond NIMBY: Mobilization Against Mini-hydroelectric Power in the Italian Alps / Magnani, Natalia. - In: MOUNTAIN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. - ISSN 0276-4741. - ELETTRONICO. - 40:3(2021), pp. 31-36. [10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-20-00035.1]

Beyond NIMBY: Mobilization Against Mini-hydroelectric Power in the Italian Alps

Magnani, Natalia
2021-01-01

Abstract

This study focused on new pressures on water resources in relation to the production of renewable energy in Italy. In particular, I considered the conflicts that have emerged in the Trentino region around mini-hydroelectric power production. Literature critiquing the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) approach provided the basis for analyzing the characteristics of this opposition movement. I argue that the anti-mini-hydro movements only partially challenge the NIMBY definition. At the discursive level, such mobilizations articulate a broader discourse opposing minihydroelectric production as a climate change mitigation strategy and promoting a vision of the river as biodiversity to be protected. Moreover, at the sociospatial level, the anti-mini-hydro movements reveal an ability to forge alliances among different sectors of broader society. However, no broader discourse is articulated on the energy transition. The anti-mini-hydro movement can therefore be characterized as a form of ‘‘localist environmentalism’’ combining place attachment and nature conservation.
2021
3
Magnani, Natalia
Beyond NIMBY: Mobilization Against Mini-hydroelectric Power in the Italian Alps / Magnani, Natalia. - In: MOUNTAIN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. - ISSN 0276-4741. - ELETTRONICO. - 40:3(2021), pp. 31-36. [10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-20-00035.1]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11572/297232
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