Environmental Economics in Flood Mitigation for River Basins and Cities

Abstract

Due to the increasing impacts of climate change on flood management, it is vital to implement effective flood mitigation measures. Economic factors significantly influence the feasibility and speed of these implementations. Evaluations must go beyond just the implementation costs. This paper introduces tools and methods for incorporating environmental economics into flood risk management at various scales, from urban areas to entire river basins. Comprehensive analysis should include social, environmental, direct, and indirect factors. Despite the variability in flood mitigation costs across different economies, the methods discussed are highly adaptable. Data limitations for appraisal tools like Multicriteria Analysis (MCA) and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) can be addressed through expert judgment, qualitative assessment, or using GDP-proportional data for cost estimation. This approach utilizes databases from experienced countries, making the methods adaptable to different contexts.

Keywords

• environmental economics
• flood mitigation
• cost-benefit analysis
• river basins
• cities