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30 November 2020 Beyond NIMBY: Mobilization Against Mini-hydroelectric Power in the Italian Alps
Natalia Magnani
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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 mini-hydroelectric 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.

© 2020 Magnani. This open access article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Please credit the authors and the full source.
Natalia Magnani "Beyond NIMBY: Mobilization Against Mini-hydroelectric Power in the Italian Alps," Mountain Research and Development 40(3), R31-R36, (30 November 2020). https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-20-00035.1
Received: 1 August 2020; Accepted: 1 October 2020; Published: 30 November 2020
KEYWORDS
environmental conflicts
Italian Alps
mini-hydroelectric power
NIMBY
Renewable energy
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