Combining Ecosystem Services with Cost-Benefit Analysis for Selection of Green and Grey Infrastructure for Flood Protection in a Cultural Setting

Abstract

Abstract:The present paper describes a methodological framework that combines ecosystem services (flood protection, education, art/culture, recreation and tourism) with economic analysis for selection of multifunctional measures for flood resilience. The framework includes active stakeholder participation and it consists of the four main components: (1) identification and valuation of ecosystem services pertinent to the project site under various mitigation scenarios, including baseline (pre-mitigation conditions); (2) evaluation of most effective flood mitigation measures through hydrodynamic simulations, and evaluation of economic viability using cost-benefit analysis; (3) selection of measures through consideration of ecosystem services, and solicitation of stakeholders' inputs; (4) development of the conceptual landscape design. Application of the framework was demonstrated in a case study of Ayutthaya Island, Thailand. Results of our research suggest that taking a holistic perspective of ecosystem services and economic assessments, marshalled through active stakeholder participation, has the potential to achieve more ecologically sustainable and socially acceptable solutions for flood protection in areas with cultural heritage. However, there is still a considerable challenge in taking this framework to a full-scale practical implementation, and this mainly relates to the selection of indicators that can enable proper application of ecosystem services.

Integrating Social Values and Ecosystem Services in Systematic Conservation Planning: A Case Study in Datuan Watershed

“…Similarly, when mapping SV (Figure 4), it is clear that SV also varies, although not to the same extent as BpS. While access to green spaces, or the lack thereof, is evident across different districts, high SV is more concentrated in specific boroughs and in local neighborhoods within the districts, indicated by population density and median income indicators [30] ( Figure 3). However, the spatial distributions of all ES taken together, i.e., SV and BpS, in the study area indicate that development of useful approaches to social-ecological system management could pose a persistent challenge due to the complexity of spatially matching SV and BpS [68].…”

“…Nevertheless, quantitative SV information is notably excluded from most existing ES valuation efforts. Various studies from numerous fields have drawn attention to the need for SV inclusion in ES valuation [9][10][11][12][13][24][25][26][27][28][29][30].…”

Nature-Based Solutions for hydro-meteorological risk reduction: A state-of-the-art review of the research area

“…There is only one article that deals with hybrid measures (i.e., NBS/green infrastructure and grey infrastructure) and also with combinations of small and large scale NBS. In the work of Vojinovic et al, (2017), a methodological framework that combines ecosystem services (flood protection, education, art/culture, recreation and tourism) with economic analysis for selection of multifunctional measures and consideration of small and large scale NBS has been discussed for the case of Ayutthaya in Thailand. The third limitation is that none of these contributions have incorporated costbenefit analyses (CBA).…”

“…The reason for that is that NBS are regarded as sustainable solutions that use ecosystem services to provide multiple benefits for human well-being and environment, which differ from grey infrastructure. One of the processes that could provide these benefits is to give more significant consideration to landscape and adaptive and multifunctionality design (Lennon et al, 2014;Vojinovic et al, 2017).…”

Sustainability

“…The valuation of GI is considered through empirical studies undertaken in Sheffield (England, UK) over a 10 year period, looking at the befits of urban greening options and future development scenarios (Wild et al, 2017). A methodological framework that considers ecosystem services (including flood protection, culture and education) with economic analysis is presented and demonstrated for a case study of Ayutthaya Island (Thailand) (Vojinovic et al, 2017).…”