Survey on economic assessment of the improvement of the quality of environment: the case of the fight against floods in Cotonou (Benin Living Standard Survey)

This study aims to analyze households' attitude toward flood risk in Cotonou in the sense to identify whether they are willing or not to leave the flood-prone zones. Moreover, the attitudes toward the management of wastes and dirty water are analyzed. The data used in this study were obtained from two sources: the survey implemented during March 2011 on one hundred and fifty randomly selected households living in flood-prone areas of Cotonou, and Benin Living Standard Survey of 2006 (Part relative to Cotonou on 1,586 households). Moreover, climate data were used in this study. Multinomial probability model is used for the econometric analysis of the attitude toward flood risk. While the attitudes toward the management of wastes and dirty water are analyzed through a simple logit. The results show that 55.3% of households agreed to go elsewhere while 44.7% refused [we are better-off here (10.67%), due to the proximity of the activities (19.33), the best way is to build infrastructures that will protect against flood and family house (14.67%)]. The authorities have to rethink an alternative policy to what they have been doing such as building socio-economic houses outside Cotonou and propose to the households that are living the areas prone to inundation. Moreover, access to formal education has to be reinforced.

Economic contribution of Chinese caterpillar fungus to the livelihoods of mountain communities in Nepal

Harvesting of Chinese caterpillar fungus, one of the most expensive biological commodities in the world, has become an important livelihood strategy for mountain communities of Nepal. However, very little is known about the role of Chinese caterpillar fungus in household economy. We estimated the economic contribution of Chinese caterpillar fungus to the household income, quantified the extent of "Chinese caterpillar fungus dependence" among households with different economic and social characteristics, and assessed the role of cash income from the Chinese caterpillar fungus harvest in meeting various household needs including education, debt payments, and food security. Results show that Chinese caterpillar fungus income is the second largest contributor to the total household income after farm income with 21.1% contribution to the total household income and 53.3% to the total cash income. The contribution of Chinese caterpillar fungus income to total household income decreases as the household income increases making its contribution highest for the poorest households. There is significant correlation between Chinese caterpillar fungus dependency and percentage of family members involved in harvesting, number of food-sufficient months, and total income without Chinese caterpillar fungus income. Income from Chinese caterpillar fungus is helping the poorest to educate children, purchase food, and pay debts. However, reported decline of Chinese caterpillar fungus from its natural habitat might threaten local livelihoods that depend on the Chinese caterpillar fungus in future. Therefore, sustainable management of Chinese caterpillar fungus through partnership among local institutions and the state is critical in conserving the species and the sustained flow of benefits to local communities.