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ABSTRACTFiordland National Park is a UNESCO world heritage site that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. An oil spill in this area could impact the visitation to not only Milford Sound, but to all of Fiordland National Park and the lower South Island. This study examined the impacts on the recreational value of Fiordland National Park under three oil spill scenarios in Milford Sound. Using a combined approach of travel cost and contingent behaviour methods revealed a consumer surplus of a visit to Fiordland National Park of NZD 534.76 and NZD 1,449.28 per person, with and without accommodation respectively. This leads to an aggregate consumer surplus estimate ranging from NZD 427.8–1,159.4 million for Fiordland National Park based on pre-COVID visitor numbers. The three oil spill scenarios represented small, medium, and large-scale oil spills, limiting various water-based activities at each step. This showed that for each increase in oil level, there was a decrease of NZD 164.10 and NZD 923.73 per person with and without accommodation respectively. This leads to an estimated minimum decrease of the welfare of visitors by 30.7–63.7 percent, or a decrease of NZD 131.3–734.0 million in the annual recreational value.Key Policy HighlightsAggregate annual recreational value estimates ranging from NZD 427.8 million – NZD 1.6 billion pre-COVID19.An oil spill occurring in Milford Sound demonstrated a minimum annual recreational value decrease of NZD 131.3 million over five years.These results demonstrate the need for appropriately funded prevention and preparedness policies to minimize possible damages.

Water Quality Indices (WQIs) are increasingly being applied for reporting on the suitability of water for a variety of human uses including agriculture. This systematic review identified and compared 42 examples of Agricultural use Water Quality Indices (AgWQIs) for surface waters in published literature. The review confirmed the growing popularity in AgWQI reporting, particularly in the last six years. All studies incorporated the suitability of water for irrigated cropping into their AgWQI with three also addressing stock watering. The review confirmed that all parameter thresholds adopted by AgWQI studies originated from either the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations publication Water quality for agriculturepublication or National Standards. An AgWQI common key was developed to overcome interstudy method variability and facilitate comparative assessment. This assessment determined that all study methods originated from two sources, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index, and the National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index. For studies adopting the latter method, a further three strategies for parameter weightings and eight functions for developing water quality ratings were identified. Our assessment also identified and explored limitations with some equations, including a method known as the proportionality constant. Significant variation in parameters, classes, thresholds, subindices, and weightings between studies was found, but also some areas of agreement. Based on the review findings, a guide has been developed to assist in future AgWQI development.

ABSTRACTDetermining social values for protecting coastal assets, including coastal parks, beaches and foreshores, is important because of potential losses with climate change impacts. In a case study application in Victoria, Australia, the travel cost method was applied to value the use of camping parks by visitors, and the choice modelling technique was applied to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) of visitors and residents to avoid future losses in foreshore campground access and beach width, through protection and adaptation efforts. While both visitors and residents had similar values for park and campsite, and beach protection, residents valued beach protection as more important whereas visitors placed greater importance in protecting parks and campsites. Visitor values were higher for sites and beaches closer to metropolitan Melbourne. These results provide government agencies and coastal managers with better information about protection values for low lying coastal assets and will enable more informed decisions to be made about investing in coastal protection and the management of specific resources in the face of sea level rise and climate threats.

Food tourism events have become a large focus for economic development in rural and regional areas. Tourism has been a key driver of food festivals, where they play a role in attracting visitors and generating expenditure in the local economy. While these types of events are generally badged as enhancing sustainability, the criteria and tests for these claims are rarely specified. In this paper we explore how the sustainability of food tourism festivals can be considered and evaluated in economic terms, using a case study of the Truffle Festival — Canberra Region in Australia. A zonal travel cost analysis was conducted to measure consumer surplus, providing potential inputs into individual economic welfare and public good evaluation tests. The results estimate that the event generated consumer surpluses of $754/person and more than $8 million overall in 2016, highlighting the importance of artisan food experiences for tourism events. To further implement food experiences as an economic development strategy further consideration and linkages with agriculture, environment and community are required to ensure they are sustainable.

A key challenge in reducing sediment moving from grazing lands into the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is to encourage beef cattle producers to improve management practices. Excessive grazing pressures cause land degradation, leading to both increased sediment runoff and lower future profits. Although higher grazing rates may be possible (and profitable) in better seasons, slow rates of adjustment to poorer seasons can lead to overgrazing and negative impacts on land condition. For policymakers the challenge is to find mechanisms that encourage or signal producers to be more precise in their management and avoid overstocking. Some of the most common options include extension programs, grant programs that use financial incentives, and regulation. In this paper we outline a conceptual framework that shows why extension may be a more powerful driver of management change than incentive programs, and then test this through an evaluation of a case study program conducted with beef cattle producers in catchments of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The pathway involving landholders to implement management change was through improved efficiency and productivity, as these are the issues that drive ongoing participation in broader environmental programs. The results present multiple lines of evidence to infer positive outcomes of an extension program in terms of changed management practices, which may be expected to generate improved productivity and better water quality outcomes. These can be grouped into three key areas. First, outcomes show positive improvement relative to the Grazing Water Quality Risk framework for the Great Barrier Reef catchments, which is designed to assess the links between land management and water quality. This indicates that resource condition is likely to improve and sediment emissions should be reduced over time. A second outcome is increased landholder engagement and improved understanding of their business and engagement in future programs, which should underpin ongoing adoption. A third outcome is improved management of risk and developing the skills to do this through data collection and monitoring, which should improve management responses in drought years.

Increasingly communities and government are using sporting, recreation and festival events as drivers of economic growth in regional areas, particularly where these can be used to align with tourism activities. However a key challenge is to evaluate and prioritise investments in facilities and services for these types of events. It is difficult for local government and communities to identify exactly which opportunities to pursue, because of issues such as the large costs involved in providing infrastructure, maintaining facilities and hosting events, competition from other centres, the variety of sport and recreation possibilities, and the variation in potential market segments. In this paper we develop a framework to evaluate proposals as well as provide a simple assessment tool to help prioritise between options. A case study application to a regional city in Queensland, Australia, demonstrates that the majority of economic benefits from a sporting event can be estimated as the number of extra visitor nights generated by $45 per visitor night. For this case study, these benefits should be at least equal or greater than any investment of public funds.

Self-drive tourism opportunities are often advanced as a strategy for economic development in rural and regional areas. In many cases the tourism appeal of an area can be enhanced through the provision of flagship attractions, services and infrastructure such as roads and signage. However evaluation of potential investments requires an assessment of the benefits, which requires prediction of future use. In this paper the methodology to assess the impacts and values of investing in road infrastructure are outlined, together with a case study application to Queensland’s Capricorn Coast. This tourism area is bypassed to the east of the main coastal highway and is accessible only through a regional highway city. The economic benefits of a northern access road to encourage tourism at the coast have been assessed. This study demonstrates how to conduct economic analyses before investing resources into new tourist access roads.

The World Series may not really be an intraplanetary baseball championship, but there is a world of difference between the way the American League and National League are playing the […]

For agricultural products, cooperative systems are an alternative to independent business arrangements that can be used to solve the simultaneous need to coordinate supply from disaggregated producers and improve efficiencies. This study analyses how a hybrid cooperative business model can solve horizontal and vertical coordination challenges, drawing on an analysis of a pineapple cooperative business, Tropical Pines, in Queensland. Semi-structured interviews with a cross section of key stakeholders and thematic content analysis are used to identify key factors. Leadership, information sharing, trust, market forecasting, risk sharing, accountability, and provision of agronomic and other support to growers are identified as key factors that distinguish this cooperative hybrid model from more standard business models. Achieving both horizontal and vertical integration maximises resource utilisation and returns to growers, as well as reducing market uncertainty and maximizing product consistency. However, there are also higher costs involved with hybrid models, particularly the focus on communication and engagement required to maintain the trust of growers. These costs increase with the size and complexity of the cooperative, which creates a tension because size and scale are often required to generate the efficiencies and market power necessary to deliver benefits.

The declining health of the Great Barrier Reef from diffuse source pollutants has resulted in substantial policy attention on increasing the adoption of improved management practices by agricultural producers. Although economic modelling indicates that many improved management practices are financially rewarding, landholders with dated management practices remain hesitant to change. This research involved bio-economic modelling to understand the variance in private returns for grazing enterprises across a climate cycle. Results show that financial returns to landholders can vary substantially across different 20-year periods of a climate cycle, demonstrating that the variability in expected returns may be an important reason why landholders are cautious about changing their management practices. Although previous research has separately identified financial returns and attitudes to risk and uncertainty of landholders as key influences on decisions concerning adoption of improved management practices, this research demonstrates that it is the interaction between these factors that is important to understand when designing policy settings.

Although it is widely accepted that the resources sector makes a significant contribution to national and state economies, information about how it impacts on local and regional economies is much scarcer. Understanding the spread of economic stimulus and subsequent indirect business and consumption effects is important because of the changing patterns of business operations, employment and supply chains in the resources sector. The focus of the research reported in this paper was to identify the geographical spread of economic impacts from the resources sector across Queensland. The results of the analysis demonstrate that incomes and expenditures from the resources sectors are widely distributed across the state, and generate significant flow-on effects. It is notable that the industry makes a strong direct contribution in many of the more remote areas of Queensland, helping to underpin economic conditions in those regions. Expenditure from the resources industry has indirect impacts on the business environment in many areas, and generates substantial levels of production in south-east Queensland and central Queensland in particular.

Internet surveys are becoming an increasing popular survey collection method because collection times are quicker and survey costs are lower than other collection techniques. Many studies have been conducted overseas to compare the effects of survey collection modes with results still remaining inconsistent. Fewer studies have compared collection methods for nonmarket valuation surveys, particularly for the more complex stated preference, choice modelling surveys. In this study, a comparison of internet and paper-based surveys is made to determine if the results for overseas studies can be replicated in Australia. The valuation exercise elicited values from Brisbane respondents for future improvements in the environmental condition of the Great Barrier Reef. The results indicate that there were some socio-demographic and attitudinal differences between the two samples and the models developed to explain the influence on choice selection were also significantly different. However, no differences in value estimates were found in the final results; household willingness-to-pay for an improvement in the condition of the GBR was equivalent across collection methods.

The article examines sports history, presenting an evaluation of 25 sports teams considered to have been dynasties, teams which dominated their sports by winning multiple championships, often in consecutive seasons. Among the teams considered are the Boston Celtics basketball team from 1956-1969, the Green Bay Packers football team from 1961-1968 and University of Iowa wrestling team from 1975-1986.

Beef cattle contribute ~7% of anthropocentric greenhouse gas emissions in Australia through the release of methane into the atmosphere. Cattle in northern Australia produce more methane per unit of beef produced because tropical grasses are generally of poor quality and elicit slower average growth rates. In this paper the level of emissions from different herds and some strategies to reduce emissions are estimated with a daily time-step model. The results indicate that few options exist to reduce methane emissions from extensive grazing systems without reducing beef production. Options to improve production or feed conversion efficiencies can generate lower levels of emissions per kg of beef produced, but can be expected to lead to increased livestock numbers and higher overall methane emissions. A woodland grazing case study from central Queensland suggests the opportunity cost of reducing each kg of methane emissions by reducing stocking rates ranges from 1.0 to 1.2kg of liveweight beef production. A price of $23 per t of carbon dioxide equivalent would indicate that opportunity costs (ignoring fixed costs of production) of reducing emissions by adjusting stocking rates would range between $0.39 and $0.49 per kg of beef produced.

Conservation auctions are a type of market-based instrument (MBI) that can achieve a more cost-efficient allocation of public funds than approaches such as devolved grants. In this paper, the conduct of a multiple round conservation auction to improve biodiversity management in a rangelands area is outlined. The auction was designed to develop a wildlife corridor across the southern Desert Uplands bioregion in Queensland and to improve management of rangelands areas.The conservation auction incorporated two important new design features. First, there was a need to promote landholder cooperation so that proposed areas for better land management were aligned and connected across the region. The second innovative design feature was to hold multiple bidding (three) rounds, which differs from the standard application of a single bidding round.The auction outcomes resulted in conservation contracts covering 85000ha of remnant vegetation awarded at an average cost of $2*per hectare per annum. Although complete landscape connectivity across the Desert Uplands was not achieved, over 70% of the successful bids, accounting for over 62000ha (77% of the total bid area), were part of a group that formed a distinct corridor or landscape linkage with only single or part-property gaps. The results also indicate that multiple bidding rounds improved auction efficiency (for the government), although there was little improvement in connectivity. Sixty-six percent more environmental benefit units could be purchased for the given budget of $350000 between rounds one and three.

A bare ground index derived by remote sensing would provide a rapid methodology for assessing the biodiversity condition of an ecosystem, providing that ground cover is a satisfactory correlate with key biodiversity attributes. The relationship between plant species richness and the abundance of individual species was examined in relation to ground cover within silver-leaved ironbark (Eucalyptus melanophloiaF. Muell.) woodlands in the Desert Uplands bioregion of north-eastern Australia. There was significant correlation between the bare ground index and ground cover and biomass measurements. Twenty-four species, including the perennial grasses Sehima nervosum(Rottler) Stapf, Themeda triandraForssk. and Bothriocloa ewartiana(Domin) C.E. Hubb., were significantly and negatively correlated with bare ground. Scleroleana birchii(F. Muell.) Domin and Sida fibuliferaLindl.displayed significant positive relationships with increasing bare ground, and where abundant indicate heavy grazing in this land type. The study suggests that satellite-derived data does provide a meaningful methodology for assessing vegetation condition although it is strongly associated with seasonal conditions, but is only useful in relation to the regional average for a land type. The findings suggest that plant diversity is maintained at a relatively high level throughout most of these woodlands in the Desert Uplands.

Opportunities exist in rangeland areas for changed grazing management practices to have positive environmental outcomes. It is important to understand what productivity tradeoffs may be involved with these changes, so as to build trust with landholders, understand how incentives for different management systems might be structured, and predict (and ameliorate) potential socio-economic impacts on regional communities. However, the complexity of agricultural and natural systems and gaps in understanding and data mean that it is very difficult to predict accurately the economic impacts of changing management actions.In this paper, the use of experimental auctions is reported as an alternative mechanism for predicting economic impacts. The methodology used was a series of field experiments, where landholders from the Desert Uplands region participated in conservation auction workshops, using ‘dummy' properties to design proposals. Using their knowledge of the region, participants had to design a conservation area or corridor across their dummy property, and then identify what annual payment would be needed before they would enter into a five year conservation agreement. An evaluation of the bids shows that the bid values may be influenced by several socio-economic and attitudinal factors as well as the opportunity costs involved in changed production. The mechanism provides a promising way of evaluating the opportunity costs of changing management practices and trialling conservation auction approaches.

There is a developing interest in Australia in the use of incentive-based policies to deal with natural resource management issues such as salinity. This compares to the previous focus on regulatory controls, suasion and in some cases, direct subsidies, to address these issues. In contrast, incentive-based mechanisms have the potential to provide greater encouragement for land managers and individual resource users to take up practices that may lead to greater individual and collective benefits.Incentive mechanisms work by using market-like processes to automatically transfer information about benefits of alternative courses of actions between participants. Key advantages of using market-like mechanisms, compared to the traditional regulatory measures, are that the desired outcomes could be met at lower costs because participants have the flexibility to vary their involvement to suit their individual circumstances. There are a range of different incentive mechanisms that could potentially be used to address salinity issues in agricultural regions. In this article, the potential role of market-based instruments in addressing agricultural salinity is reviewed.

Estuaries play an important role as a buffer zone between the land-based activities and the inshore marine environment. However, little is known about community values for the environmental services estuaries provide. Choice Modelling, a non-market economic valuation technique, was applied to estimate the non-use values associated with protecting the environmental health of the Fitzroy estuary in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area. Non-use values are held by people who do not directly use the estuary themselves, but may still value it for its natural capital and the ecosystem services it provides. A survey sample was selected from a remote population (Brisbane, 700 km from the estuary), where it was unlikely that many respondents had used the estuary and so the values elicited reflected a non-use component of value. Results indicated that Brisbane households were willing to pay $3.21 per year for a one per cent improvement in the environmental health of the Fitzroy estuary. Results also revealed that losses in environmental health were valued differently to gains.

AbstractThe protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage sites is not consistent across Australian states. In part this is because of the considerable variation in the perceived quality of different sites. For example, these range from camping areas, rock-working sites and marked trees through to important art gallery and burial sites. It is also because it is not clear what values are held within the Australian community for protecting sites. This paper will describe a Choice Modelling valuation study that assessed the values held by both the Indigenous community and the general community for the protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage sites in Central Queensland, Australia.

Choice Modelling is a non-market valuation technique that can be used to assess peoples' preferences for environmental protection where such information is not readily available from markets. The technique has a number of modelling and analytical strengths, and provides researchers with insights into how conservation values may be structured within society. The series of Choice Modelling applications reported in this paper explored the values that a sample of Brisbane residents held for protecting rainforests in Queensland and New South Wales, as well as in a variety of overseas locations. The results indicate that environmental, social and recreational values are important in determining potential support between different forest protection proposals. The modelling of decision pathways (through the application of nested logit models) indicates that the Brisbane residents surveyed were parochial in apportioning their support for rainforest protection. There is evidence that rainforests in Queensland are viewed as the most important to support, followed by those in other Australian states, and then those in overseas locations.

Features the best athletes in the U.S., including basketball player Vince Carter.

In this paper, two contingent valuation experiments to estimate values for animal welfare are reported. The focus of the experiments was to demonstrate the application of non-market valuation techniques for this purpose, and to determine whether the applications are invalidated by any association of the amenity to be valued with ethical and moral themes. Such an association has been suggested, in several formats, to underlie potential scoping effects. The experiments show that little evidence can be found to suggest that any association between free range eggs and ethical and moral themes causes particular valuation problems. However, accurate estimation of the welfare of battery hens is difficult, because animal welfare concerns may only be one reason why free range eggs are purchased. Also, the potential use of consumer purchase prices as references to value may make consumer surplus estimates problematic.

This instrument attaches to a grating monochromator and measures absorption spectra with a SNR of 2000 or more over the 270–850-nm wavelength range, with a resolution of at least 0.1 nm. Over the 300–700-nm range a resolution of 0.03 nm is attainable with the same SNR. Thus good absorption spectra can be measured with scale expansions of 30 times. The maximum SNR is 4800, permitting 100 times scale expansion.

Looks at a number of the teammate combinations in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp of the Seattle Supersonics; John Stockton and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz; Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway of the Miami Heat; Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls.

Presents results of an opinion poll the magazine asked readers to respond to, giving their choice of favorite male and female athletes, favorite TV sports shows and other questions. Michael Jordan most favored male athlete and Lisa Leslie most liked female athlete; Hot dogs the favorite food at sports events; Other comments.

Previews Major League Baseball's 1997 season. The magazine's opinions on how various teams will perform; Statistics about Alex Rodriquez's 1996 performance; Outfielder Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants; Brian Jordan's move from football to baseball; Mark McGwire, first baseman for the Oakland Athletics;Thoughts on the best rookies; Players on the Seattle Mariners who hit more than 25 home runs in 1996; List of team in each division.

Profiles Atlanta Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo. His shot-blocking skills; Awards he has won in the National Basketball Association (NBA); His ambition as a child; His studies at Georgetown University; His point and rebound average in his first NBA season; His comments on helping people; Photographs of Mutombo; Some of his favorite things in life; His college and professional statistics; Other facts about him. INSET: Dikembe's favorite things..

Looks at sports in the United States in 1996. Professional teams that won the championship in their respective sports; Photographs of medal-winning athletes who competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics; Facts about the Olympics; Athletes who moved to other teams or retired.

Tells the story about the history of touchdown celebrations in professional football. Receiver Home Jones of the New York Giants who first used the spike in 1965; Dances that different players have done, including the Funky Chicken and The California Quake; Why the National Football League (NFL) passed a rule about limiting celebrations; Celebrations in the 1990s.

Looks at sports and politics in the United States. Sporting events attended by US presidents; Athletes that were invited to the White House; Some former athletes who became politicians; Comments of some athletes on running for political office; Photographs of presidential campaign buttons created by children; . INSET: Athletes who have run and won..

Discusses the home run in baseball and players famous for their home runs. Babe Ruth; Roger Maris; Mark McGwire; Baseball history; Jose Canseco; No player to ever hit a home run out of Yankee Stadium; Gene `Half-Pint' Rye; Dennis Martinez. INSETS: The home run king;Ask the athlete;Mashing taters;Can anybody catch Hank Aaron?

Profiles famous athletes and teams that have competed in the Olympics. Includes Carl Lewis, Jesse Owens, and Nadia Comaneci.

Profiles Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Hideo Nomo. Why he got the nickname Tornado; The 1995 National League rookie of the year; Reliance on a 90 mile-per-hour fastball and dipping fork ball; Players asking Hideo for his autograph; The second Japanese player in the United States major leagues in 30 years. INSET: The international house of pitchers (Dodgers' pitchers).

Profiles Major League Baseball's Frank Thomas. His nickname The Big Hurt from his performance for the Chicago White Sox as a super slugger; Statistics including batting average; His effect on pitchers; Desire to become a professional athlete; His background.

Profiles Major League Baseball's Ken Griffey, Junior. Statistics on his seven seasons of play; His dad, Ken Griffey, who played for the Cincinnati Reds and other teams; Details on growing up; His tips on how to play the game. INSET: Fast facts.

Highlights the history of the ancient Olympic games held in Greece, Athens, in 776 B.C. Featuring of footrace event; Prize of winner; Greek god Zeus' love for sports; Ban on women; Non-wearing of clothes by athletes.