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

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

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

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

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

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

Results: internal flood effects on the farming system Buildings Deterioration + inaccessibility Human beings Physiological and psychological injury Plots Deterioration + possible inaccessibility Equipment Deterioration + possible inaccessibility Stock of input Deterioration t 0 submersion t 1 post submersion Non optimal realization of several production cycle Delay of investment Loss of markets (long term) t 2 post submersion Damage (flood effects) Hazard parameters Depth of submersion Season … Damage t Agricultural output Bank Compensations Subsidies Loans Financial resources available Product Added value State Insurance Farmer financial resources reparation Farming system Human beings (workforce) plot Buildings Equipment Stock of input

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

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

Thank you for your attention! Any questions? Pauline Bremond Montpellier, FRANCE