Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) of river restoration in Greece
This report presents a Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) of nature-based, hybrid and conventional infrastructure for addressing flood risks in the region of Thessaly, Greece. The authors use spatial models, system dynamics modelling, and economic analysis to holistically assess the social, economic, and environmental benefits of restoring floodplains and riparian forests, building small retention dams, and expanding conventional dikes. The economic valuation demonstrates that river restoration can provide diverse benefits such as carbon storage, increased agricultural production, and improved habitats for biodiversity.
Key results:
- The nature-based infrastructure (NBI) intervention has the highest benefit-to-cost ratio over the next 25 years. The benefit-to-cost ratio of the NBI is 2.9, compared to 2.4 for the hybrid and 1.5 for the grey infrastructure.
- Even without considering the avoided flood damages, the additional benefits, such as increased agriculture production and avoided costs of emissions, are sufficient to justify the investment in the NBI. The net benefits would be even larger when considering avoided flood losses, particularly from extreme events.
- The carbon storage value of NBI, which is equal to EUR 12.8 million, is, on its own, larger than the costs of the NBI (EUR 6.8 million) and of the hybrid infrastructure (9.3 million). The NBI would also improve habitat quality and support biodiversity, which could provide recreational opportunities and improve agricultural productivity.
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