IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i9p7473-d1138144.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Stakeholder Perceptions about Incorporating Externalities and Vulnerability into Benefit–Cost Analysis Tools for Watershed Flood Risk Mitigation

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas H. Douthat

    (College of the Coast and Environment, Department of Environmental Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA)

  • Fahmida Akhter

    (College of the Coast and Environment, Department of Environmental Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA)

  • Rachelle Sanderson

    (Capital Region Planning Commission, Baton Rouge, LA 70816, USA)

  • Jerrod Penn

    (Department of Agriculture Economics & Agribusiness, Louisiana State University & LSU Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA)

Abstract

Multi-scalar climate hazards in watersheds and growing consideration regarding equity call for innovation in how agencies evaluate and prioritize mitigation and adaptation projects. Benefit–Cost Analysis (BCA) is one approach that is increasingly being applied to decision-making (i.e., FEMA BCA toolkit), but that has not been applied to watershed and equity-based flood management initiatives. This paper addresses this topic and presents a case study evaluating projects for watershed flood and climate mitigation projects by the Louisiana Watershed Initiative (Louisiana, USA). Through semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and practitioners, we found that BCA tool design must be embedded in the program and policy in order to be successfully applied and that equity has not traditionally been a core value of mitigation practice. Even though many stakeholders understand the need for incorporating environmental and social project consequences at a watershed scale, challenges to doing so include inequitable barriers to project design in competitive processes, the complexity of integrating modeling and environmental outcomes data, jurisdictional interests, and the need for better science communication with local decision-makers.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas H. Douthat & Fahmida Akhter & Rachelle Sanderson & Jerrod Penn, 2023. "Stakeholder Perceptions about Incorporating Externalities and Vulnerability into Benefit–Cost Analysis Tools for Watershed Flood Risk Mitigation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-23, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:9:p:7473-:d:1138144
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/9/7473/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/9/7473/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eric Tate & Md Asif Rahman & Christopher T. Emrich & Christopher C. Sampson, 2021. "Flood exposure and social vulnerability in the United States," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 106(1), pages 435-457, March.
    2. Flyvbjerg, Bent & Bester, Dirk W., 2021. "The Cost-Benefit Fallacy: Why Cost-Benefit Analysis Is Broken and How to Fix It," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(3), pages 395-419, October.
    3. Rahel Laudien & Eva Boon & Hasse Goosen & Kim Nieuwaal, 2019. "The Dutch adaptation web portal: seven lessons learnt from a co-production point of view," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 153(4), pages 509-521, April.
    4. Qing Miao & Yu Shi & Meri Davlasheridze, 2021. "Fiscal Decentralization and Natural Disaster Mitigation: Evidence from the United States," Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 26-50, March.
    5. Roggero, Matteo & Bisaro, Alexander & Villamayor-Tomas, Sergio, 2018. "Institutions in the climate adaptation literature: a systematic literature review through the lens of the Institutional Analysis and Development framework," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(3), pages 423-448, June.
    6. Bentley, Rebecca & Baker, Emma & Aitken, Zoe, 2019. "The ‘double precarity’ of employment insecurity and unaffordable housing and its impact on mental health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 9-16.
    7. Jarl Kind & W.J. Wouter Botzen & Jeroen C.J.H. Aerts, 2017. "Accounting for risk aversion, income distribution and social welfare in cost‐benefit analysis for flood risk management," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(2), March.
    8. Kim Carlotta von Schönfeld & António Ferreira, 2021. "Urban Planning and European Innovation Policy: Achieving Sustainability, Social Inclusion, and Economic Growth?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-35, January.
    9. Vogl, Adrian L. & Goldstein, Joshua H. & Daily, Gretchen C. & Vira, Bhaskar & Bremer, Leah & McDonald, Robert I. & Shemie, Daniel & Tellman, Beth & Cassin, Jan, 2017. "Mainstreaming investments in watershed services to enhance water security: Barriers and opportunities," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 19-27.
    10. David J. Frame & Suzanne M. Rosier & Ilan Noy & Luke J. Harrington & Trevor Carey-Smith & Sarah N. Sparrow & Dáithí A. Stone & Samuel M. Dean, 2020. "Climate change attribution and the economic costs of extreme weather events: a study on damages from extreme rainfall and drought," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 781-797, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guignet, Dennis & Jenkins, Robin R. & Belke, James & Mason, Henry, 2023. "The property value impacts of industrial chemical accidents," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    2. Carmelina Bevilacqua & Pasquale Pizzimenti & Yapeng Ou, 2023. "Cities in Transition and Urban Innovation Ecosystems: Place and Innovation Dynamics in the Case of Boston and Cambridge (USA)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-30, September.
    3. Juan Francisco Sortino Barrionuevo & Hugo Castro Noblejas & Matías Francisco Mérida Rodríguez, 2024. "Mapping Tools for Flood Risk Rescue and Assistance Management," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-25, January.
    4. Ryan, Jean & Martens, Karel, 2023. "Defining and implementing a sufficient level of accessibility: What’s stopping us?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    5. Leroy, David, 2023. "An empirical assessment of the institutional performance of community-based water management in a large-scale irrigation system in southern Mexico," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    6. Mariano Gallo & Mario Marinelli, 2020. "Sustainable Mobility: A Review of Possible Actions and Policies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-39, September.
    7. Tovar Reaños, Miguel A., 2021. "Floods, flood policies and changes in welfare and inequality: Evidence from Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    8. Ismallianto Isia & Tony Hadibarata & Muhammad Noor Hazwan Jusoh & Rajib Kumar Bhattacharjya & Noor Fifinatasha Shahedan & Norma Latif Fitriyani & Muhammad Syafrudin, 2023. "Identifying Factors to Develop and Validate Social Vulnerability to Floods in Malaysia: A Systematic Review Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-21, August.
    9. Khurram Shehzad & Umer Zaman & Ana Ercília José & Emrah Koçak & Paulo Ferreira, 2021. "An Officious Impact of Financial Innovations and ICT on Economic Evolution in China: Revealing the Substantial Role of BRI," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-17, August.
    10. Zhang, Dongna & Dai, Xingyu & Wang, Qunwei & Lau, Chi Keung Marco, 2023. "Impacts of weather conditions on the US commodity markets systemic interdependence across multi-timescales," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    11. Welsch, David M. & Winden, Matthew W. & Zimmer, David M., 2022. "The effect of flood mitigation spending on flood damage: Accounting for dynamic feedback," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    12. Elisabeth A. Lloyd & Theodore G. Shepherd, 2021. "Climate change attribution and legal contexts: evidence and the role of storylines," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 1-13, August.
    13. Chabba, Meenakshi & Bhat, Mahadev G. & Sarmiento, Juan Pablo, 2022. "Risk-based benefit-cost analysis of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction with considerations of co-benefits, equity, and sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    14. Ettore Gallo, 2024. "Reduction of CO2 Emissions, Climate Damage and the Persistence of Business Cycles: A Model of (De)coupling," Working Papers 2413, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics.
    15. Marcin Zieliński & Marcin Dębowski & Joanna Kazimierowicz & Izabela Świca, 2023. "Microalgal Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) Capture and Utilization from the European Union Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-27, February.
    16. Sinclair, Andrew, 2023. "Assessing the benefits of high-speed broadband: Lessons from Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN)," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    17. Mark Wooden, 2021. "Job Characteristics and the Changing Nature of Work," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 54(4), pages 494-505, December.
    18. Brownson, Katherine & Fowler, Laurie, 2020. "Evaluating how we evaluate success: Monitoring, evaluation and adaptive management in Payments for Watershed Services programs," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    19. Denary, Whitney & Fenelon, Andrew & Schlesinger, Penelope & Purtle, Jonathan & Blankenship, Kim M. & Keene, Danya E., 2021. "Does rental assistance improve mental health? Insights from a longitudinal cohort study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    20. Yanfang Lyu & Yun Xiang & Dong Wang, 2023. "Evaluating Indirect Economic Losses from Flooding Using Input–Output Analysis: An Application to China’s Jiangxi Province," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-17, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:9:p:7473-:d:1138144. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.