A Comprehensive Multicriteria Analysis of Italian Regional Parks: Advancing Environmental Management and Benchmarking

This study presents a comprehensive multicriteria analysis of Italian regional parks, focusing on advancing environmental management and benchmarking. It integrates multiple indicators with a simplified yet effective multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to evaluate the performance of 150 regional parks across Northern, Central, and Southern Italy. The analysis highlights significant regional disparities in park distribution, management tools, and resource allocation. Northern Italy leads in the number of parks, land area, and the availability of management tools such as Master Plans and Park Apps, while Southern Italy shows higher activity levels per employee, indicating a different management approach. Central Italy, though with fewer parks, exhibits a relatively high presence of management tools and a higher number of employees per municipality. The MCDA identifies top-performing parks, such as Beigua Regional Park, Adamello Brenta Natural Park, and Dolomiti Friulane Natural Park, all located in Northern Italy, which excel in digital engagement, infrastructure development, and visitor activities. These parks serve as exemplary models for effective park management. This study underscores the importance of adopting tailored strategies that consider regional characteristics and resource availability. Addressing regional disparities and sharing best practices can improve environmental management and ensure the long-term sustainability of Italian regional parks. This research provides a valuable benchmark for evaluating and improving the performance of regional parks, offering actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders involved in the governance of protected areas.