Using the Choice Experiment Method to Inform River Management in Poland: Flood Risk Reduction vs. Habitat Conservation in the Upper Silesia Region

The study presented in this chapter, not only presents one of the first applications of the choice experiment method to value benefits from reduction in flood risk in Europe, but also aims to estimate the value of biodiversity, in addition to the local household’s demand for recreational activities in this area. To this end, choice experiment and socio-economic data, as well as data on households’ past recreational activities in the area and flood damages suffered in the past ten years, are collected from 192 households in the region. The results reveal that all households derive the highest benefits from reduction of flood risk to a low level, followed by recreational activities and biodiversity conservation in the area respectively.