Landslides in mountainous regions of Northern Vietnam: Causes, protection strategies and the assessment of economic losses

Michael Ahlheim, Oliver Frör, Antonia Heinke, Alwin Keil, Duc Nguyen, Pham Van Dinh, Camille Saint-Macary and Manfred Zeller

No 298/2008, Diskussionspapiere aus dem Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre der Universität Hohenheim from Department of Economics, University of Hohenheim, Germany

Abstract: Landslides are a severe problem during the rainy season in many mountainous regions in Asia where forests have been cut so that mountain slopes are destabilized. In this study we analyze the extent and causes of landslides in a mountainous area in Northern Vietnam as viewed from the perspective of the concerned population. We also scrutinize the ideas of these people regarding suitable landslide protection measures and their willingness to contribute to the practical implementation of these measures. It shows that nearly all people living in this area feel highly concerned about the frequent landslide events and that they support the idea of government programs to mitigate the danger of future landslides. We measure the utility they expect from such a landslide protection program, i. e. the social value of such a program, in terms of their willingness to contribute personally to its implementation. Since budgets are tight in these rural areas where subsistence farming still prevails we also analyze the possibilities to measure these expected utility gains in terms of people's willingness to contribute working time instead of money to the proposed landslide protection program. The prospect of employing such an alternative means of contribution is, however, seen rather critical.

Keywords: Landslide Protection; Economic Valuation; Vietnam (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D6 H4 L3 Q25 Q51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 15 pages
Date: 2008-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-sea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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