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Highlights • Ecosystem health report card for the largest port in the Great Barrier Reef. • Social, cultural, economic and environmental indicators of harbour health. • Innovative reporting infrastructure to ensure transparency and timely results. • Stakeholder-led vision underpinned by rigorous science and strong communication. Abstract Ecosystem health report cards are an increasingly popular means of summarizing the results of environmental monitoring programs for broad, non-scientific audiences. This paper describes a whole-of-system report card initiative developed to monitor the condition of a multi-use port in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Queensland, Australia. Concerns over the impacts of major industrial expansion, fish health incidents, safety of recreational harbour users and habitat loss prompted stakeholders in the Gladstone region to unite and establish the Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership. The objective was to monitor and report on the health of the harbour via an annual report card (http://rc.ghhp.org.au/). We illustrate one approach to designing a report card against ten core considerations; 1) strong links to all stakeholders at all stages, 2) rigorous science, 3) effective communication, 4) setting clear goals and 5) realistic expectations, 6) flexibility in implementation, 7) transparency, open access and accountability, 8) results linked to actionable management recommendations, 9) regular evaluation, and 10) long term commitment. Innovative aspects of this report card include the combination of four components of harbour health: environmental, social, cultural and economic; underpinned by a sophisticated monitoring, modelling and reporting program. A review of the report card content and methodology, conducted in 2017, determined that the design meets the original vision and objectives set by Gladstone stakeholders. However, stakeholder perceptions of the effectiveness of the report card have not been comprehensively assessed to date. This paper provides a guide to others designing report card programs and environmental metrics, with advice on maximizing transparency and data sharing, coordinating otherwise disparate monitoring efforts, and linking with management through the provision of scenario analysis tools with which to interpret and respond to annual report card results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Including the economic value of recreation in report cards is recent. • Recreation values were estimated for the Gladstone Harbour Report Card. • The transferability of these values for use in other report cards is tested. • A transfer error of 73% is applied as an acceptable level for report cards. • The results suggest values are transferable across regions. Abstract Including socio-economic indicators in aquatic health report cards is becoming more common place, with the Gladstone Harbour Report Card a pioneering example in Australia. There has been limited consensus about the selection and range of social and economic indicators applied in different aquatic report cards. However, because tourism and recreation are one of the main ways people experience and enjoy aquatic resources, particularly in coastal areas, these uses have typically been included as socio-economic indicators. Estimating the economic value of recreation is more challenging than for tourism as specialist nonmarket valuation techniques are required, which can be expensive and time consuming to apply. One alternative is to estimate the economic benefits of outdoor recreation from secondary sources in a process known as benefit transfer. The aim of this study is to test the transferability of the recreation values estimated for the Gladstone Harbour Report Card for application in other similar report cards. A paucity of similar valuation studies limited the scope for comparison. An alternative approach was employed where an existing dataset was analysed to test for cross regional similarity and the results applied to infer the transferability of the Gladstone Harbour value for beach recreation. The results indicate that regional values for beach recreation are generally transferable across the large area (1400 km) of the Great Barrier Reef coastal zone and should be applicable elsewhere. However, the valuation scope can influence transferability and broader regional valuations are more transferable than smaller scale valuations. It is suggested that while for some purposes a more statistically robust definition of value equivalence maybe required, it is not necessary for report card purposes and transfer errors of up to 73% are acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Focuses on processes for returning rehabilitated coal lands to grazing uses. • Characterises opportunities and barriers for returning post-mining land to grazing. • Endorses involving stakeholders in determining acceptable uses for post-mining land. • Proposes a deliberative process with panels of a cross-section of stakeholders. • Proposes 'utility' as a goal of mine rehabilitation and closure in Queensland. Abstract In Queensland's Bowen Basin, a major Australian coal reserve, areas of post-mining land are increasing. These areas have been subject to decades of coal-mining and, without appropriate transfer to alternative use, may remain as vacant land unable to be used for grazing or other productive uses. Research that informs new and revised policies and processes to optimize rehabilitation and post-mining land use planning is critical in assisting regional economies to transition to post-mining contexts. This paper explores the potential for panels comprised of stakeholders to agree on a beneficial land use, which is one of the four goals of mine rehabilitation and closure specified by the Queensland regulator. Whilst current guidelines require stakeholder consultation, there is little real evidence that rehabilitation and closure planning processes incorporate the perceptions of potential future land users in terms of the utility of ex-mining leases, socio-economic value and associated opportunities and risks. In contrast, existing literature reveals the range of influencing factors that landholders, especially graziers, may consider in determining the utility and value proposition of land packages. These include physical, agronomic, ecological, economic, aesthetic and recreational characteristics. This gives rise to two questions: (i) what role(s) can input from stakeholders and potential future land users play in considering the opportunities and barriers to incorporating ex-mine land into grazing properties; and (ii) what are the characteristics of an appropriate model for engaging and empowering a stakeholder panel to play those role(s)? This research identifies a potential role for stakeholders in adaptive management in collaboration with regulators and mining companies, via a process of long-term engagement among a cross-section of predominantly local people. Visual models of an authentic example are proposed as the basis for reaching agreements about the land use challenge and reconciling ecosystem, social and economic functions and values. This research thereby provides a narrative on both of the research questions raised and proposes a re-conceptualisation of rehabilitation goals in order to optimize post-mining futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Pollutant reductions are needed to improve water quality to the Great Barrier Reef. • Drivers of pollutant reductions are varied and diverse across large catchments. • Integrating spatial, marine, participation and cost information helps predict reductions at a finer scale across the Great Barrier Reef catchments. • Using spatial data enables prioritisation of locations, industries and priority actions. Abstract The declining health of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) from poor water quality has increased the urgency for pollutant reductions at the same time that available financial resources and knowledge regarding the most appropriate interventions are limited. Prioritisation of water quality interventions in the Great Barrier Reef catchments is the process of identifying which land based actions can achieve the largest environmental benefits at the lowest cost. For prioritisation to be effective a focus is required on the outcomes of pollution reduction activities as compared to the inputs. In this paper we set out a framework for prioritising actions to improve water quality into the Great Barrier Reef, as well as providing a case study analysis using 47 individual river basins across the six large scale catchments, three pollutants and two industries. The results identify the most cost-effective options for water quality improvements aligning to locations of medium risk to reef health. The outcomes of the analysis highlight the importance of seeking pollutant reductions where the most effective outcome can be achieved rather than simply targeting an industry or a catchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the climate change context, consumers are often urged to reduce meat consumption because of associated greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is unclear if consumers would pay more for meat with lower carbon footprint, among other credence factors. This paper reports one of the first studies to identify willingness-to-pay for meat that has been carbon-footprint-labelled as an attribute. Four discrete choice experiments are conducted about meat preferences for beef, chicken, lamb and pork, on 1,200 Australian respondents. The results show that credence factors remain less important to most consumers than intrinsic meat properties. Carbon footprint is non-significant in the estimated mixed logit models. Latent class analyses reveal that only one (representing 21% of consumers) out of three classes places high importance on carbon footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We assess the importance of environmental certification to consumer purchases of avocados. • Methods used were best-worst scaling, contingent valuation and discrete choice experiments. • Average willingness to pay extra was similar for eco-labelled avocados compared to higher environmental standards. • There was greater support for higher environmental standards. • Results show that the quantum of support is just as or more important than the price premiums. There is substantial evidence that consumers prefer food to be produced at higher environmental standards. There are two main options for improving demand signals for environmentally sensitive production through markets: ecolabels, where consumers can choose to buy differentiated products, and environmental standards, where consumers can opt for higher standards at higher costs. Yet there is limited information about the extent to which consumers would be willing to pay extra and support these options. In this study we apply three separate parallel non-market valuation experiments (best worst scaling, contingent valuation and discrete choice experiments) in a survey of Australian households to identify the level of consumer support for avocados to be produced at higher standards. We estimate both the willingness to pay and the proportion of consumers prepared to support ecolabelling and environmental standard approaches, correcting for quantity changes and factors affecting support. Our case study application is avocado production in catchments of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, where we find a similar willingness to pay per unit for five star water quality improvements under the ecolabelling option with a discrete choice experiment ($0.22/unit) compared to the environmental standards option assessed with contingent valuation ($0.22/unit). The key insight from our work is that assessing the quantum of consumer support is more important than assessing the price premiums, and that more consumers will support universal higher environmental standards than ecolabelled options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal lagoons are some of the most inhabited and yet threatened ecosystems in the world. Cultural services in coastal lagoons are important for supporting human wellbeing and therefore their valuation is gaining recognition among decision makers responsible for managing development that affects these areas. This study is focused on the recreational aspect of cultural services employing two econometric methods revealed and stated preference – to estimate the non-market value of recreation at two coastal lagoons. This is part of an international and interdisciplinary study conducted by ecologists and economists. The same survey questionnaire, with minor adaptations, employing the same valuation methods, i.e. Travel Cost Method (TCM) and Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), were used at both the Coorong (Australia) and the Ria de Aveiro (Portugal). Results of the two surveys at the two sites revealed largely similar visitor profiles. The estimated values of Consumer Surplus obtained were 132€ and 160€ (per adult and per day) according to the TCM for the Australian and the Portuguese lagoons respectively, and 103€ and 110€, respectively with the CVM. These quantitative monetary estimates of non-market recreational visitor values represent part of the total value of these coastal lagoons and can be used directly as input for evaluations of alternative management options using Cost-Benefit Analysis. As such, the estimates fill part of what has previously been an information gap that has prevented a full accounting of the net benefit of alternative options. Now, with a more complete set of values, managers can better assess the extent to which financial resources should be allocated towards nature conservation vis à vis development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water quality degradation in the Great Barrier Reef, associated with increased loads of nutrients, sediments and pesticides from agriculture, has become a major concern. Improved management practices and water quality targets were set in the Reef Plan 2013, but with limited success. The causality between water quality degradation, ecosystem health and benefits to society remains poorly understood, questioning the relevance of current water quality targets. We argue that ecosystem service valuation may help identify the benefits generated by ecosystems and help prioritise further investments in water quality improvement. We estimate the loss of benefits to society resulting from water quality reduction, concentrating on the influence of pollutants on mangroves, seagrass and coral reefs. Our results suggest that failing to meet Government's water quality targets by 1% would result in losses between AU$22 k/year and AU$6.9 M/year depending on the industry. We then discuss the implications stemming from these results for local policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial harbours are a complex interface between environmental, economic and social systems. Trying to manage the social and economic needs of the community while maintaining the integrity of environmental ecosystems is complicated, as is the identification and evaluation of the various factors that underpin the drivers of economic, community and resource condition. An increasingly popular strategy to deal with the identification and evaluation challenges in complex human-environmental systems is to use a report card system which can be used as a summary assessment tool to monitor the health of aquatic ecosystems. To date though these have largely focused on environmental factors, and it is only very recently that attempts are being made to include social, cultural and economic indicators. There has been limited consensus in the selection of social and economic indicators applied in different aquatic report cards but as recreation is such an important activity, typically some measure of recreation benefit is included. However, there has been no commonality in the measures applied to assess its performance as an economic indicator. This paper is focused on the assessment of recreational benefits as an indicator of economic value in the report card for Gladstone Harbour in Queensland, Australia. It is the first aquatic health report card to include an assessment of the nonmarket value of recreation which makes it a more comprehensive indicator of economic value compared to other report cards based on measures of employment, participation or expenditure. There have now been three consecutive years of reporting (2014–2016) of the Gladstone Harbour report card, and the results indicate that the recreation index appears to be effective in monitoring changes over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key strategy in reducing water quality impacts into the Great Barrier Reef is to change farm management practices to limit the creation of pollutants or their transmission off farm. However, designing programs to improve adoption in agriculture of Better Management Practices (BMPs) can be challenging because of heterogeneity among landholders and between farms and farming systems. This is relevant to broader issues in the adoption literature where a focus on identifying factors influencing and heterogeneity in adoption have rarely transferred through to analysis and prediction models suitable for policy purposes. In this case study these issues have been tested with sugarcane farmers in Queensland, where the current policy settings are targeting increases in adoption of better management practices from 34% in 2011 to 90% by 2018. The main goals of the study were to identify how rates of adoption for different practices might be explained by (a) the motivations of farmers (b) potential barriers to adoption (c) farm characteristics and (d) financial drivers. The results confirm that measures to improve BMP adoption are complicated by heterogeneity in adoption drivers between practices and across groups of landholders, creating challenges to find effective strategies to encourage adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 15 years Australia has been trialling conservation tenders and other market based instrument approaches to generate environmental outcomes, particularly on private lands. The best known of these is the BushTender auction for vegetation protection in Victoria, begun in the early 2000s. Subsequently, nearly 100 other tenders for biodiversity protection have been run in Australia with substantial variations in application and methodology generated by a mix of both intended design and case study differences. The number of separate conservation tenders that have been performed, and the variations in environmental targets, state jurisdictions, case study circumstances, design and implementation, provides a rich data base of projects for analysis – unique at the international level. The review section of the paper covers three broad areas. The first aim is to provide an overview of the various tenders and their history and design in different settings. The second is to review their application, particularly in relation to auction design, metric design and contract design aspects, while the third is to identify the extent to which tenders provided more cost-effective outcomes than alternatives such a fixed rate grants. An additional goal is to explain why, after so many trials, conservation tenders are not more widely used in Australia. Key conclusions are that the multiple trials show that tenders are robust, relatively simple to apply and deliver more cost-effective allocations of public funding than other grant mechanisms. The reasons for their limited use can be related more to political and bureaucratic forces and inertia rather than to economic and design limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Report cards are an increasingly popular method for summarising and communicating relative environmental performance and ecosystem health, including in aquatic environments. They are usually underpinned by an Ecosystem Health Index (EHI) that combines various individual indicators to produce an overall ecosystem health “score”. As a result of public water quality concerns, an integrated means of monitoring and reporting on aquatic ecosystem health was needed for the Fitzroy Basin in central Queensland, Australia. The Fitzroy Partnership for River Health was formed to address this need, and developed an EHI and report card for the Basin using existing monitoring data collected from various third parties including regulated companies operations and government. At 142,000 square kilometres, the Fitzroy Basin is the largest catchment draining to the World Heritage Listed Great Barrier Reef. The Fitzroy Basin provides an example of how to deliver an effective aquatic ecosystem health reporting system in a large and complex river basin. We describe the methodology used to develop an adaptive EHI for the Fitzroy Basin that addresses variability, complexity and scale issues associated with reporting across large areas. As well, we report how to manage the design and reporting stages given limitations in data collection and scientific understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Best-worst scaling used to assess preferences of Australian meat consumers. • Experiment involved 16 statements covering a range of product and credence attributes. • Most important factors are 'health' followed by 'quality and price'. • Concerns over greenhouse gas emissions were not as important. This research explores if the greenhouse emissions associated with meat production are particularly important to Australian consumers relative to a number of other factors. As well as price and quality aspects, we tested the interest in greenhouse issues relative to other credence goods relating to environmental, health and animal welfare aspects of meat production and consumption. A best-worst scaling analysis was selected over other non-market valuation approaches because of the ability to analyse relative influences of different factors on preferences. A total of 1200 participants across all states and territories in Australia were randomly drawn to participate in an online survey and, of them, 1101 completed the best-worst choice experiment. Both the counting approach and conditional logit paired model were applied to analyse the data. Based on the best-worst score, our results suggest that the factors nominated by Australian consumers as most important to them in their meat purchasing decisions are 'health' followed by 'quality and price'. Results indicate that concerns about greenhouse footprints from meat production are important but much lower relative to other factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern farming is characterised by complexity, dynamics, and in many cases, heterogeneity in farming methods. Increasing use of dynamic investment theories, such as the Real Options Analysis method, allow integration of dynamic aspects but retain untenable assumptions in the face of widely acknowledged complexity and uncertainty in management of grazing systems. Relaxation of the requirement for rationality in decision making may provide economic models with a better ‘fit’ to observed behaviour of managers of rangelands grazing enterprises whilst allowing exploration of the reasons for and costs of particular patterns of decision making on farms. The economic analysis of decision making using explicitly dynamic choice functions and dynamic choice experiments framed in a grazing land management scenario is considered in this paper. Results indicate that models of bounded rationality, relaxing the assumptions of perfect knowledge and cognitive abilities, will have improved explanatory power for farm decision making whilst risk preferences appear to contribute little by way of variation in observed decision making. These insights suggest the need to broaden economic models of decision making to incorporate limits on rationality which will allow analyse of the costs of these limits and provide the framework to assist farm managers achieve higher enterprise and environmental efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Zealand is an island nation with an extensive coastline. Subsequently, marine water-based recreational activities are important to New Zealanders and bring income to coastal communities. Pollution events, such as marine oil spills, are incidents that can negatively impact the water quality and the recreational use of the New Zealand coastline. To improve the information base for informing maritime policies, and estimate the likely impacts of an oil spill to coastal areas of New Zealand, this study examined the potential impacts on recreational value with three oil spill scenarios at a stretch of beach in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Using a combined approach of travel cost and contingent behaviour methods revealed that the consumer surplus of a visit to the beach by domestic visitors was approximately NZD 121 per person. The approach allowed assessment of the likely use of the beach under differing potential oil spill impacts restricting various marine-based recreational activities. A small oil spill with occasional traces of oil but no restrictions on recreational activities decreased the value to NZD 29.74. A moderate oil spill restricting only fishing, surfing, and swimming decreased the value to NZD 9.83. A severe oil spill stopping all recreational use decreased the value to NZD 4.30. When these recreational losses are combined with known clean-up costs and direct use losses in fisheries and tourism, the total direct use loss to a coastal area like this stretch of beach in the Bay of Plenty, where the MV Rena spill occurred in 2011, could be over NZD (2011) 111 million, of which NZD (2011) 66.14 million is recreational visitor use alone. This estimate allows consideration for the entire direct use values lost that an oil spill could have to a coastal community and to New Zealand as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating land use change in economic frameworks often requires non-market values to be assessed. However non-market valuation experiments can be sensitive to the way the tradeoffs are framed. The aim of the research reported in this paper was to examine the influence of varying the valuation scope and combination of attributes in a split sample choice experiment focused on assessing the impacts of increased mining activity (coal and coal seam gas) in the Surat Basin in southern Queensland, Australia. The region had traditionally been dominated by the agricultural sector. The survey was designed to assess the largely, but not exclusively, non-use values of a distant population (Brisbane (capital city) residents) for tradeoffs between positive and negative impacts, which incorporated economic, social and environmental issues. Four impact attributes were identified: (A) local jobs in the mining sector; (B) house prices in the non-mining sector; (C) wage rates in the non-mining sector, and (D) inspections and independent monitoring activity at coal seam gas mining sites (a proxy to address environmental concerns). The results indicate that varying the combination of attributes had a significant influence on preferences and welfare estimates, which varied across attributes and valuation formats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrete choice experiments have been used in this case study to assess community benefits for the control of red imported fire ants, an aggressive ant species that were introduced by accident in 2001 to Brisbane, Australia. This invasive species could have substantial impacts on agricultural production, biodiversity, ecosystem services, infrastructure and communities. Values for avoiding impacts on three particular land uses have been assessed in this study with discrete choice experiments. The results indicated that on a per hectare basis, the value estimates to avoid infestation in public areas (schools and parks), were much higher than for private areas (housing) or natural bushland areas (protected native vegetation). There were high levels of support for eradication rather than containment strategies, despite the additional costs involved. The use of both random parameters logit and latent class models demonstrates that there is a significant heterogeneity in preferences and values for controlling or eradicating the invasive species, indicating that it may be challenging to gain and maintain political support for management options, particularly if these involve large costs or inconvenience to households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Beaches in Australia are a national icon and internationally renowned. In Queensland, coastal areas and beach recreation attract domestic and international visitors, underpinning the tourist industry across the State. However, the activity of local residents, who use the beaches most frequently, is generally not recorded in official records, but has significant economic value. In the study outlined in this paper, the value of beach recreation by residents in Brisbane (the capital city and largest population centre in Queensland) was estimated using the Travel Cost Method. Negative binomial models were used to estimate values associated with both daytrips and overnight trips to beaches in different regional areas. It is estimated that Brisbane households make approximately 5.78 million daytrips and 2.97 million overnight trips to the beaches in southeast Queensland each year. This results in a total annual value of $1,039M ranging from $839M to $1,416M. Variations in value estimates for different regions indicate that there are important differences in the factors driving site selection between daytrips and overnight trips to the beach which have not been identified in this study and need to be considered if value estimates are to be considered for extrapolation to other situations. The research results also identified some methodological limitations in the application of a population-based approach to the valuation exercise rather than the more traditional site-based approach. Brisbane residents make an important contribution to the value of beach recreation in central and northern parts of the State, with households making approximately 0.27 million overnight trips per year. However, it was not possible to estimate travel cost models for beaches in these regions because there were low visitation rates and insufficient differentiation in visitation rates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Coastal and marine resources often require to be valued to assess management options and encourage sustainable policy-making. While numerous non-market valuation techniques are available, the complexity of biodiversity makes applications challenging. Typically, a small number of proxy assets (e.g. coral reefs) are used to represent more complex natural assets and processes in valuation exercises. While using proxies simplifies the assessment process, it can be challenging to interpret what values represent. We conduct a comprehensive review of the use of proxies to represent coral reef biodiversity in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, spanning four decades (1983–2020) of literature. Studies are categorized based on the Total Economic Value and Ecosystem Services components they refer to, and the different approaches to the use of proxies. We identify that value estimates are sensitive to the type of proxy, and recommend habitat- or process-focused proxies over species-focused proxies as being more holistic and accurate. The most adequate proxies may, however, be considered on a case by case basis, depending on the policy question being addressed. • Four-decade review of economic valuation studies on coral reef biodiversity. • Focus on the use of proxies to value biodiversity in the Great Barrier Reef. • 102 economic values from 17 consumer surplus studies are compiled and analyzed. • Studies categorized using the Total Economic Value and Ecosystem Service frameworks. • Species-, habitat- and process-focused biodiversity proxies are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The focus of the research reported in this paper has been to estimate recreation values for beaches over approximately 1,400 km (km) of coastline along the Queensland coast. The study is notable at an international level because it assesses recreation values to a general type of recreation asset rather than to a specific site, and because it focuses on the values of the local resident population. Negative binomial models have been used to estimate both the visit rate and recreation values associated with beach visits in different regional areas. The value of a single beach visit was estimated per person at $35.09, which extrapolates to $587.3 million in beach recreation values per annum. These values are likely to be conservative because opportunity costs incurred to live closer to the beach (e.g. housing premiums) have not been assessed. Contingent behaviour models were used to estimate the values of potential declines in water quality, with marginal effects assessed at $1.30 per recreation trip to avoid each 1% decline in water quality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: While meta-analysis is typically used to identify value estimates for benefit transfer, applications also provide insights into the potential influence of methodological design characteristics on results of non-market valuation experiments. In this paper, a meta-analysis of nineteen choice modeling (CM) studies in Australia is conducted generating 145 individual value estimates relating to river health. Implicit prices of different measures and scales of river health were transformed into a common standard of willingness to pay (WTP) per kilometer of river in good health. A Tobit model was used to identify the relationships between this dependent variable and a large number of study design characteristics. While there is evidence that the dimensions of choice tasks and description of attributes influence value estimates, there is also evidence that the way tradeoffs and payment mechanisms are framed are equally important. The results of this meta-analysis suggest that more attention should be paid to the way tradeoffs are framed in choice experiments relative to internal choice set structure and data analysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There is increasing interest in the use of market-based instruments such as tenders and trading systems to address water quality issues. While the focus is typically on the improvements in resource allocation that are generated, these instruments also play an important role in addressing issues of asymmetric information. The use of water quality tenders to reveal the opportunity costs of changing agricultural practices can help policy makers to understand the potential costs of misallocating public resources and to design better ways of achieving water quality improvements. This role of water quality tenders to reveal opportunity costs is demonstrated by reporting four pilot applications to improve water quality into the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The results demonstrate the potential for opportunity costs to vary substantially between agricultural producers, and across industries, catchments and pollutants. The results from these case studies indicate that the most cost-effective water quality improvements may be generated from the horticulture and dairy sectors. In contrast, the opportunity costs of reducing emissions from the cane and grazing industries appear to be higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The focus of this paper is to compare different evaluation frameworks for selecting landholder proposals to improve water quality. The case study is a water quality tender performed in the Burdekin region in Northern Australia in 2007/2008 where bids could be assessed using an inputs-based best management practice scorecard or an outputs-based auction metric. The scorecard approach and other variants of multi-criteria analysis are commonly applied in grant schemes, where landholder proposals are rated by a range of inputs-based criteria. Output-based approaches are typically applied in water quality and conservation tenders, where an environmental benefits index is constructed to summarise the environmental improvements generated by each proposal. These then allow projects to be selected on the basis of cost effectiveness. The case study evaluation reported in this paper demonstrates that the input focus of multi-criteria analysis type assessments are flawed, and that the efficiency of public funding can be more than doubled using auction metrics to assess proposals for landholders to improve water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Given the focus on protecting natural assets in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia, it is important for managers and policy makers to understand the value of recreational fishing in the area, and how changes in management may affect those recreational values. Travel cost methods were used to estimate the value of recreational fishing in the Capricorn Coast in Central Queensland using data from on-site surveys conducted at boat ramps. The study also uses contingent behaviour models to estimate the change in the value of recreational fishing as conditions vary. Results indicate that there are high values associated with recreational fishing activity along the Capricorn Coast, and that the demand for recreational fishing is inelastic and that values are relatively insensitive to changes in catch rates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Two social impact assessment (SIA) studies of Central Queensland''s Coppabella coal mine were undertaken in 2002–2003 and 2006–2007. As ex post studies of actual change, these provide a reference point for predictive assessments of proposed resource extraction projects at other sites, while the longitudinal element added by the second study illustrates how impacts associated with one mine may vary over time due to changing economic and social conditions. It was found that the traditional coupling of local economic vitality and community development to the life cycle of resource projects—the resource community cycle—was mediated by labour recruitment and social infrastructure policies that reduced the emphasis on localised employment and investment strategies, and by the cumulative impacts of multiple mining projects within relative proximity to each other. The resource community cycle was accelerated and local communities forced to consider ways of attracting secondary investment and/or alternative industries early in the operational life of the Coppabella mine in order to secure significant economic benefits and to guard against the erosion of social capital and the ability to cope with future downturns in the mining sector. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Assessing seafood supply chains is important at both individual business and industry levels to ensure profitability, efficiency, and consumer satisfaction. Such assessments are typically aimed at understanding the structure of the supply network and at optimizing processes within the chain. Yet, identifying broader supply chain challenges (e.g., access to inputs, market access barriers) and opportunities (e.g., increasing demand) at an industry level is also important to inform industry development strategies. The aim of this case study is to identify challenges and opportunities within the four oyster species' supply chains in Australia (Sydney rock oyster - Saccostrea glomerata , the Pacific oyster - Crassostrea gigas (also referred to as Magallana gigas), Angasi oyster - Ostrea angasi, Black lip oyster - Saccostrea echinate/Striostrea (Parastriostrea) mytiloides) and to offer options on how to address these. Data was collected through supply chain stakeholder interviews during October 2019 and August 2020. Findings suggest that challenges vary depending on the production scale of the industries as low-volume producing oyster industries grapple with production related challenges, while challenges of large-volume producing oyster industries also center around value creation. Opportunities are predominantly seen in addressing the identified challenges. [Display omitted] • Supply chain challenges and opportunities vary based on industry production scale. • Larger industries are challenged by value creation within the supply chain. • Smaller industries struggle with production and supply consistency. • Opportunities are mostly seen in addressing identified challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In rangeland areas, improved biodiversity management can be achieved by changing the financial incentives facing land managers. Competitive tenders and fixed price grants can both be applied to achieve the same environmental outcomes. In the case study described in this paper, the efficiencies of the two methods are compared. Operationally, the two mechanisms are similar in both cost and process. Both mechanisms have very important indirect benefits of building skills and knowledge in both landholders and the implementing agency, and building trust between the two. However, the heterogeneity in landholders’ opportunity costs revealed in the competitive tender trial means a discriminatory price mechanism is more efficient at matching program costs with direct environmental benefits. In terms of transfer payments, the competitive tender was 30% more cost efficient than a fixed price grant scheme. While the initial design and development costs of a tender may be greater than a grant, there was no evidence of any difference in operating costs in this case study. There was also little evidence of any indirect costs associated with the tender process, but it may be too early to make a realistic assessment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In recent decades the declining health of the Great Barrier Reef has led to a number of government policies being implemented to reduce pollutant loads from the adjacent agricultural-based catchments. There is increasing use of cost-effectiveness measures to help prioritise between different programs and actions to reduce pollutants, given limited resources and the scale of the issues. However there are a small number of primary studies available, and the consistency of cost-effectiveness measures and their application is limited, particularly given the various uncertainties that underlie the measures. Unlike Europe and the United States of America water policy or benefit transfer approaches, there are no procedural guidance studies that must be followed in the context of the Great Barrier Reef catchments. In this study we review the use of cost effectiveness estimates for pollutant reduction into the Great Barrier Reef in the context of a benefit transfer framework, where estimates of costs from a particular case study are transferred to various scenarios within different catchments. The conclusions suggest a framework be developed for the Great Barrier Reef, which is consistent, transparent, and rigorous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the economic value of improved protection of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is important to demonstrate the consequences of loss and to evaluate the public benefits of programs to reduce pressures and address degradation. However, those values are not easy to measure, in part because of the diversity and complexity of the GBR, and because there are very different types of benefits involved. Since 1985, there have been over 40 major studies that have assessed values for these components at the whole GBR level, and many more for components at smaller scales. This study synthesises estimates from the major valuation studies in the GBR since 1985, generating estimates of average values across different benefit categories. We observe mixed results. While values are often reasonably consistent within sub-categories, there is mixed evidence about temporal trends and the small number of available studies makes it difficult to draw definitive outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The processing/wholesale supply chain model has been historically adopted by farmers of Australia's Sydney rock oyster (SRO) (Saccostrea glomerata) industry to transfer their product to consumers. The model has been criticized for restricting farmer's price bargaining power and for offering limited added value to the product. Recent anecdotal reports suggest that there has been a change in how oysters are supplied by farmers to the market. This case study aimed to map the supply chain of SROs at an industry level, to identify and to describe the existing supply and value chain models within the broader supply network structure, and to investigate factors that determine how farmers choose supply chain models. A literature review, a web-content search, and semi-structured interviews with supply chain stakeholders were undertaken to achieve these aims. Results suggest that the processing/wholesale model still plays a dominant role within the broader supply network. However, other models of supply chain coordination that generate higher returns have emerged in response to farmer's dissatisfaction with the processor/wholesaler model. Findings suggest that oyster farmers choose specific distribution models based on the net financial value they generate and other considerations such as farmers' skills, interest in maximizing profits, knowledge about consumer demand, time/effort to develop network links and existing trust-based relationships. • Processors/wholesalers continue to be the dominant players in the distribution of oysters. • There is an increasing shift to higher value generating distribution models. • Change is occurring due to farmers' dissatisfaction with the processing/wholesale model. • Perceptions of net-benefit determines farmers' choice of distribution model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]