An emergy approach for the assessment of sustainability of small marinas

The construction and the activity of a marina could imply some detrimental effects on the coastal and marine environment. Actually, small marinas activities and the increase in tourism pressure linked with their presence have many interactions with the surrounding environment. Because of the tight links among economic interests, environmental protection and development policies an integrated approach to sustainability is compulsory. In order to give adequate answers to various demands arising from different stakeholders (i.e. marinas managers, policy makers, private owners and users), emergy analysis seems to be an appropriate approach. Emergy is a methodology able to consider both environmental and economic aspects in terms of energy previously used up (directly or indirectly) to make a product. The approach has been applied to two marinas, both located on the western Ligurian coast (Italy, North-western Mediterranean). Both structures emerged as attended by guests exploiting a huge quantity of electricity and fuels, making energy saving a critical issue. The adaptability of the analysis allows further comparison with other key sectors in the same geographical area and with marinas characterized by different natural conditions but it also allows detection the relevance of different management practices and highlighting of changes due to variations in external constraints.