Economic Appraisal of Farm Vulnerability to Flooding: Enhancing Flood Management Projects

1. 4th International Symposium on Flood Defence: Managing Flood Risk, Reliability and Vulnerability Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 6-8, 2008 CHARACTERIZATION OF FARM VULNERABILITY TO FLOODING FOR ECONOMIC APPRAISAL OF FLOOD MANAGEMENT PROJECTS Brémond Pauline, Bauduceau Nicolas and Grelot Frédéric

2. French background and purpose • Framework for an economic assessment of farm vulnerability to flooding • Assessment at plot scale => assessment at farm scale Vulnerability assessment at the farm scale Current assessment methods of agriculture vulnerability Farm A Farm B

3. French background analysis • WHY? • Policy-driven economic appraisals of flood management projects • Agriculture lands impacted by flood management policies • Non-structural measure efficiency can not be appraised • Little work on agriculture vulnerability • HOW? • Modeling flood effects on farming system

4. Assessing vulnerability • Definition / assessment • Economic appraisals: flood impacts ascertaining and valuation • Lack of understanding of impacts • Difficulties to value intangible, indirect impacts • Address social, financial, temporal dimensions in vulnerability assessment Hazard parameters : Depth of submersion Duration of submersion Speed Season Monetary damage (€) D = V(A) System vulnerability

5. Existing approaches to assess agriculture vulnerability to flood • Agro-economic models • First work 1970 (USA) • Monetary loss due to crop damage • Existing methods for quantifying agricultural area vulnerability to flooding do not reflect the whole impact of a project on agricultural areas • Agriculture deemed as a sum of plots instead of an economic activity • Example: a flooded vineyard

6. Plan Loire tackles the issue of agriculture vulnerability • Relevant scale to assess vulnerability = farms • A qualitative measurement of farm vulnerability • To diagnose and reduce farm vulnerability • A tool : diagnostic handbook • Go further => develop an approach to quantifying farm vulnerability

7. Damage (flood effects) Human beingsPhysiological and psychological injury Human beings (workforce) Non optimal realization of several production cycle Buildings Buildings Deterioration + inaccessibility Equipment Stock of input reparation Delay of investment Equipment Deterioration + possible inaccessibility plot Loss of markets (long term) State Insurance Stock of input Deterioration Bank Plots Deterioration + possible inaccessibility Product Added value Farmer financial resources Compensations Subsidies Loans t2 post submersion t0 submersion t1 post submersion Financial resources available Results: internal flood effects on the farming system Farming system Damage Hazard parameters • Depth of submersion • Season … t Agricultural output

8. Human beings (workforce)  Buildings Equipment Input suppliersDeterioration + possible inaccessibility Stock of input plot Distribution chain Deterioration + possible inaccessibility  Results: external flood effects on the farming system Farming system reparation Agricultural output Added value of the product Financial resources available

9. Conclusions and implications in further research • A framework for quantifying agriculture vulnerability which integrates more effects • Mid term and long term effects • Systemic effects • Financial effects • Compare results of Cost-Benefit Analysis • methods at plot scale / modeling at the farm scale

10. Thank you for your attention!Any questions? Pauline Bremond pauline.bremond@cemagref.frMontpellier, FRANCE