Valuing ecosystem services and disservices of blue/green infrastructure. Evidence from a choice experiment in Vietnam

Abstract

This paper examines public preferences for developing sponge parks using blue/green infrastructure in Can Tho city, the biggest and fast-growing city in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Particularly, the paper assesses the economic value associated with the provision of a set of ecosystem services (flood control, recreational activities, biodiversity) and ecosystem disservices (pest abundance) provided by blue/green infrastructure using a discrete choice experiment. Results indicated that flood control is the most highly valued ecosystem service, followed by recreation and biodiversity. Household willingness to pay for flood control-related benefits is higher than the willingness to pay for other ecosystem services and disservices. Results further suggest that overlooking the existence of ecosystem disservices generated by the installation of blue/green infrastructure measures, such as sponge parks, could lead to the overestimation of welfare effects. This is the first study to account for the value of potential ecosystem disservices associated with blue/green infrastructure in the context of developing countries. It is suggested that these policies should be designed in a way to strengthen cities’ resilience and deliver the conditions needed to improve human wellbeing, while minimising the effects of welfare-reducing elements. Future research conducting environmental valuation studies should integrate both ecosystem services and disservices in order to generate policy recommendations that improve local communities’ wellbeing.