Valuing the Benefits of Nature-Based Solutions : A Manual for Integrated Urban Flood Management in China
Floods are the most frequent of all-natural hazards and responsible for causing more damages than any other disasters. Globally, floods are estimated to have affected more than 2 billion people between 1998 and 2018, accounting for 45 percent of al...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/486911622787803268/Valuing-the-Benefits-of-Nature-Based-Solutions-A-Manual-for-Integrated-Urban-Flood-Management-in-China http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35710 |
| Summary: | Floods are the most frequent of
all-natural hazards and responsible for causing more damages
than any other disasters. Globally, floods are estimated to
have affected more than 2 billion people between 1998 and
2018, accounting for 45 percent of all people affected by
disasters during that period with an estimated 142,088
fatalities. The immediate impacts of flooding include the
loss of human life, livelihoods, damage to property,
destruction of crops, loss of livestock, disruption of
services, and deterioration of health conditions owing to
waterborne diseases, among others. The direct economic
losses caused by flooding over the last decade are estimated
at US656 billion dollars, although these are systematically
under-reported and actual values are likely much higher.
When accounting for intangible impacts on human well-being,
natural disasters are thought to cost the global economy
more than US520 billion dollars a year. This report outlines
a comprehensive framework for valuing the benefits
associated with NbS for IUFM to facilitate the
identification of appropriate and sustainable financing
mechanisms to realize those values. Traditional approaches
of assessing the benefits of urban flood management have
been focused on avoided losses due to reductions in the
probability of flooding. A benefit to this approach is that
it is simple to calculate and to explain to decision makers.
It can also provide information regarding the optimal level
of flood risk reduction associated to the direct
intervention cost. However, such traditional approaches do
not reflect the full range of social, environmental and
economic benefits that can be realized by NbS for IUFM.
Broader recognition of these benefits, and an evaluation of
their value under different circumstances, provides the
foundation for capturing non-market values and leveraging
private sector and community financing options. The approach
described herein builds on the ‘Principles for Valuing
Water’ articulated by the High-Level Panel on Water convened
by the United Nations and the World Bank Group and includes
three common types of flooding (i.e. fluvial, pluvial and
coastal) through a five step process. |
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