Leveraging the social acceptability and political feasibility of flood policy to build resilience in the Lake Champlain Richelieu River basin
Conference Year
January 2019
Abstract
During the spring of 2011, the Lake Champlain Richelieu River basin experienced unprecedented flooding as a result of exceptional snowmelt and rainfall. The fallout of the flooding, which included evacuations, destruction of home and infrastructure, and a maintained flood stage for over six weeks, prompted the development of a study that would explore potential mitigation and adaptation measures meant to better prepare the region prior to and during flooding events. A component of that study is an analysis of the social acceptability and political feasibility of various flood mitigation measures, as well as a look into how the various proposed measures can contribute to the resilience of the region.
This presentation will examine the methods being used to explore the perceptions that the public, as well as experts and public officials, have towards the risk of flooding, as well as the different research tools that are being employed to consider the values and perceptions across demographic and geographic spectrums in the Lake Champlain Richelieu River basin. The poster will present the following methods: focus groups with experts and public officials, a risk perception survey, and the use of discrete choice experimentation in value determination.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Christopher Koliba
Status
Graduate
Student College
Graduate College
Program/Major
Community Development and Applied Economics
Primary Research Category
Social Sciences
Secondary Research Category
Food & Environment Studies
Leveraging the social acceptability and political feasibility of flood policy to build resilience in the Lake Champlain Richelieu River basin
During the spring of 2011, the Lake Champlain Richelieu River basin experienced unprecedented flooding as a result of exceptional snowmelt and rainfall. The fallout of the flooding, which included evacuations, destruction of home and infrastructure, and a maintained flood stage for over six weeks, prompted the development of a study that would explore potential mitigation and adaptation measures meant to better prepare the region prior to and during flooding events. A component of that study is an analysis of the social acceptability and political feasibility of various flood mitigation measures, as well as a look into how the various proposed measures can contribute to the resilience of the region.
This presentation will examine the methods being used to explore the perceptions that the public, as well as experts and public officials, have towards the risk of flooding, as well as the different research tools that are being employed to consider the values and perceptions across demographic and geographic spectrums in the Lake Champlain Richelieu River basin. The poster will present the following methods: focus groups with experts and public officials, a risk perception survey, and the use of discrete choice experimentation in value determination.