Assessment of the economic impact from extreme events: The case of Xylella fastidiosa in the olive growing of Salento (Southern Italy)

Since 2013, a large number of olive trees in the province of Lecce (in the south of Italy) is affected by the quarantine bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. In particular, the disease affects about 18,900 hectares of land (20% of the provincial territory) in which almost 2.1 millions of olive trees (20% of the olive plants of the Salento, one of the largest agricultural areas in the south of Italy) are present. The damage relates to the direct loss of farmers’ income due to the death of the trees and the probable loss of benefits supplied by the ancient ‘olive tree landscape’ to the community. The aim of this chapter is the assessment of the above two typologies of damage (i.e. loss of farmers’ income and loss of benefits to the society), in order to provide useful information to decision makers for the implementation of transparent and objective strategies of intervention.