ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Modern strategies for reduction of natural hazard risk combine technical, biological, organizational measures and land-use planning. The goal of planning strategies is to achieve maximum risk reduction at the lowest possible cost. In this study the application of the marginal cost approach and a cost-benefit analysis of different protection strategies against avalanche risk at the Schiahorn avalanche path in Davos, Switzerland, is presented. Both approaches suggest that the present risk reduction strategy meets the goals of economic efficiency and reduction of human fatalities. The study also shows that initial assumptions have a major influence on the results of cost-efficiency and cost-benefit analyses. Results of those studies should therefore be carefully interpreted in the context of those assumptions.
