Financial Mechanism and Resources

Australia: Financing for Biodiversity

Trends and key pressures on biodiversity and ecosystems

Status and trends
OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Australia 2019
Land area (1,000km2) 7,682
% of arable land and permanent crops 6
% of permanent meadows and pastures 41.6
% of forest area 16.2
% of other land (built-up and other land) 36.1
The overall status of biodiversity is poor and worsening in Australia. Pressures from agriculture, forestry, urban development, infrastructure, extractive industries, coastal activities, invasive species and climate change are increasingly interacting to exacerbate challenges for threatened species. Around one-third of terrestrial bioregions continue to have less than 10% protection, and marine protected areas in Commonwealth jurisdiction do not address pressures in state-controlled coastal areas. Less than 40% of nationally listed threatened species have recovery plans in place, and implementation of plans has been constrained by a lack of financing and weak co-ordination between Commonwealth, state/territory and local authorities.
More than half of Australia’s land area is used for agriculture, although the area has declined since 2005. Forest cover has increased with regrowth, clearing (mainly for livestock farming) remains a major source of concern for biodiversity. Large cities continue to expand into natural areas, despite increased urban densification.
Information on the status and trends of ecosystems and species Natural environments Terrestrial ecosystems Inland water ecosystems Coastal and marine ecosystems Flora and fauna

Pressures on biodiversity
Clearing, land use and harvesting Water use, coastal pressures and hydrological changes to watercourses Invasive species Fire Pollution Climate change
Research, development and innovation
References

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Institutional arrangements and governance

International and regional co-operation
International commitments
Governance and institutions
Institutional framework
Environmental responsibilities are shared between federal government, six states and two territories, and over 560 municipalities. Sates and territories have had the leading role in environmental protection. The federal role is to regulate “matters of national significance, which include heritage places (natural, historic and Indigenous areas), wetlands, threatened species and certain marine zones. The coastal zone and several other issues are managed through a multilevel approach that has overlaps and gaps. States and territories have principal responsibility for land planning and management, in cooperation with local governments. They generally have dedicated laws and departments to regulate land use.
Regulatory framework
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act (1999) is the key Commonwealth legislation on environmental management. The federal government conducts ex ante regulatory evaluation using Regulation Impact Statement. The Act includes provisions for strategic environment assessment. Environmental impact assessment is not binding for permitting decisions in all states and territories.

Regional and local authorities
Civil society
Private sector
Indigenous peoples
References
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Financing

Domestic public financing

Biodiversity expenditure has remained between AUD 400 million and 500 million per year (less than 0.05% of GDP) since 2010. National Landcare Program funding is dropping, the Green Army programme has not been renewed, there is no longer funding for new state-led National Reserves and there have been cuts to biodiversity research at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and national Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility. The Great Barrier Reef is one area that received significant new funding, with an estimated investment of over AUD 2 billion by the Commonwealth and Queensland governments for implementation of the Reef 2050 Plan.
Revenue from environmentally related taxes declined as a share of GDP between 2005 and 2016, mostly due to the decreasing contribution of energy taxes to tax revenue. Excise taxes apply to natural gas for road use and oil products in all sectors, but due to tax refunds, fuels are largely untaxed outside of transport.
Government expenditure on environmental protection rose from 0.6% of GDP in 2005 to 1% in 2013, before decreasing to 0.9% in 2015 due to a decline in Commonwealth spending. Australia does not produce regular environmental expenditure accounts.

Private revenues

Many actions needed to improve biodiversity outcomes across Australia require substantial increases in financing, including improved long-term monitoring, feral animal management and ecological restoration. The 2017 Threatened Species Prospectus proposed attracting financing from the industrial and philanthropic sectors, but early indications are that while it has generated over AUD 6 million, it will be difficult to attract substantial private financing without the leveraging power of greater public funding.
There are around 50,000 abandoned mines on public and private land that are in need of rehabilitation. Past contamination is generally the responsibility of states and territories, and procedures for investigation and remediation of contaminated land vary by jurisdiction.

Biodiversity funds

Several national, state and territorial research programmes support university and NGO research related to biodiversity. However, the scale of investment remains too low to get ahead of the pace of biodiversity loss and growth in pressures, and there are insufficient links between academic research and policy development.

International financing

Most of the free trade agreements Australia has signed include general environmental provisions only.
Australia’s net official development assistance disbursements have been declining in real terms since 2012. After a decrease over 2011-2015, Australia’s aid focusing on environment rose to 23% of bilateral allocable aid in 2016, compared to the OECD DAC average of 33%. Australia has actively supported the Green Climate Fund and contributes to other multilateral funds, especially on adaptation, and its 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper emphasized that environmental degradation and climate change put the region’s prosperity at risk.
The Export Finance and Insurance Cooperation (EFIC), the government’s export credit agency, finances few mining projects with potentially significant adverse environmental and/or social risks. There is little information on the level of EFIC funding for fossil fuel projects.
References

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Strategic frameworks and sectoral inclusion

Strategic and legislative framework
Biodiversity strategies and legislation Threatened Species Strategy
Agriculture
Fisheries and aquaculture
Forestry sector
Extractive industries
Tourism
Urban sprawl
Energy and infrastructure
Climate change
References

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Biodiversity instruments

Conservation programmes
Compliance
The EPBC Act provides enforcement mechanisms through administrative, civil and criminal sanctions. Courts can impose a range of civil enforcement measures, including directed audits, remediation orders and other injunctions, enforceable undertakings, and fines. The Commonwealth and states/territories can order measures to prevent, mitigate and remediate environmental damages. The Act provides for the possibility of requiring operators to furnish financial security to cover potential liability. Voluntary liability insurance is available in every state but usually covers only third-party property damage and injury.
National Landcare Program
The main federal program provides grants for conservation and sustainable use actions by organizations, private landowners and community groups. While the programme has helped reduce biodiversity loss, the government has been criticized for frequently changing policy directions and funding levels, and for focusing more on administrative result measurement than biodiversity outcomes. Funding has been decreasing over time and while the new tender process many improve overall outcomes, small communities and organizations may lack the capacity to draft quality proposals.

National Landscapes – Conservation partnerships with the tourism industry. Bush Blitz partnership between the Australian Government, BHP Billiton Limited Sustainable Communities and the Earthwatch Institute (Australia) to discover and document biodiversity across Australia’s national system of conservation reserves. Bush Blitz commenced in 2009 with a total budget of AU$22 million over eight years. It has already undertaken snapshot biodiversity surveys on more than 70 conservation reserves covering over three million hectares, and discovered over 700 new and undescribed species and added more than 24,000 new species records, covering almost 9,900 species.
Conservation covenants with private landholders
The covenants provide benefits such as tax concessions, rate relief or grants in exchange for protecting land of high conservation value. Results of the programme are mixed, however, depending on the capacity of landowners to manage protected areas and the degree to which states maintain protection. Queensland, for example, has approved mining on land previously protected under a conservation covenant.
Australian Business and Biodiversity Initiative (ABBI) and Integration of environmental considerations by the private sector: To support private sector engagement with the protection of Australia’s biodiversity, an alliance of organisations and individuals from business, government and civil society called the Australian Business and Biodiversity Initiative (ABBI) has been formed under the Global Partnership for Business and Biodiversity. ABBI members are committed to exploring and promoting the integration of biodiversity conservation and the sustainable use of ecosystem services into business policies and practices in Australia. Their aim is to raise awareness and improve understanding of the ways in which the degradation and loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services is a critical risk and opportunity for Australian businesses. ABBI also aims to support the development and uptake of practical solutions that enable businesses to integrate consideration of biodiversity and ecosystem services into business decision-making and ultimately improve the health and resilience of both our environment and economy. Another signal of progress made by the private sector in integration of environmental considerations into their business activities is the recent increase in the number of top Australian companies undertaking Corporate Responsibility Reporting. A recent survey by KPMG found that over three quarters of the top 100 Australian companies by revenue now report on corporate responsibility (82 per cent) compared to 57 per cent in 2011. The report suggests that these high rates are indicative of a shift in the private sector to view corporate responsibility reporting as standard business practice.
Access and benefit sharing: Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000 regulate access to resources in Commonwealth areas and benefit sharing arrangements. Between January 2009 and December 2013, 175 permits have been issued under the access and benefit-sharing provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000.

Recovery plans for threatened species and ecosystems

Economic instruments

A recent study by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found that in 2011-2012, nearly three quarters of Australian adults (73 per cent) took part in some activity that involved contact with nature in the last 12 months. The most popular of these activities was visiting a national park or botanic garden (52 per cent), followed by a nature walk or bush walk (42 per cent). Just under one third of Australian adults (31 per cent) visited a wildlife park or zoo, and one quarter took a camping or nature holiday (25 per cent).
In the year ending June 2013, domestic and international visitors undertaking at least one nature-based tourism activity1 in Australia spent AU$30.4 billion — AU$14.2 billion for international visitors; AU$14.6 billion for domestic multi-day trip visitors and AU$1.6 billion for domestic day trip visitors. The natural environment, including sites with an Indigenous cultural component, is a key motivator for international visitors to travel to Australia, with 56 per cent influenced to visit based on their intent to visit a natural area. Fifty-seven per cent of respondents in the Tourism Australia Consumer Demand Project (results as at August 2013) associated Australia with world class beauty and natural environment, the highest rank of all countries surveyed. In 2010, the national economic value generated by 15 of Australia’s World Heritage Areas (excluding the GBR) was in the order of AU$7.25 billion annually, along with approximately 83 000 jobs.
In March 2013, Deloitte Access Economics estimated that the total Australia-wide value-added economic contribution generated by the Reef in 2011-12 was AU$5.7 billion with employment of just below 69 000 jobs. These estimates are based on both the direct and indirect contribution of the activities considered. The activities considered in the study are tourism, recreation, commercial fishing, scientific research and reef management.
The Murray-Darling Basin: in 2011-12 the total agricultural area irrigated in the Basin was 1.4 million hectares, which represented 66 per cent of all irrigated land in Australia. In 2010-11, the Gross Value of Agricultural Production in the Murray-Darling Basin was $19.2 billion, which is 42 per cent of the total GVAP for Australia. As well as providing food for Australia, Murray-Darling Basin-grown produce is also exported overseas. The Murray-Darling Basin is ecologically diverse, supporting a wide range of nationally and internationally significant plants, animals and ecosystems. A 2012 CSIRO report assessed the Basin-wide value of enhanced habitat ecosystem services — arising from floodplain vegetation, waterbird breeding, native fish and the Coorong, Lower Lakes, and Murray Mouth — was potentially worth about AU$3 billion to AU$8 billion (present values using 2010 dollars) under the 2800 scenario relative to the baseline scenario.
Developing the Australian environmental accounting capability: In 2012, the ABS produced a publication "Completing the Picture – Environmental Accounting in Practice" to inform government decision-makers, policy analysts, scientists, industry and other groups on how environmental accounts, including biodiversity accounts, could be used and further developed in Australia. The ABS aims to produce Australian Environmental-Economic Accounts (AEEA) on a more regular basis. The AEEA are based on the international standard System of Environmental-Economic Accounts (SEEA) framework. The Australian Government is also contributing to an environmental accounting capability through the Bureau of Meteorology that will produce ecosystem accounts that will provide information about the capacity of ecosystems to provide ecosystem services. The environmental accounts will present the current status as well as track changes for vegetation, biodiversity and ecosystems (and their capacity to provide services). This is a key step in integrating environmental and economic accounts, and will help to embed biodiversity considerations in decision making across multiple sectors.

Conservation covenants
Conservation covenant concessions: (tax concessions) are available to land owners who enter into conservation covenants to protect areas of high conservation value in Australia. Covenant Scheme Providers can apply to have their covenant scheme approved for the purposes of the Income Tax Act 1997. Landowners entering covenants through approved programs may be eligible for tax concessions, creating positive incentives for conservation.

Biodiversity offsets

Offset policies are increasing as part of environmental assessment processes at both the federal and state levels. However, offset requirements vary across jurisdictions and there has been criticism of what is deemed “like for like”, permanency, baseline setting and a lack of monitoring to ensure achievement of environmental objectives. New South Wales established the new Biodiversity Conservation Trust.

Environmental Offsets: In October 2012, the Australian Government released an environmental offsets policy and offsets assessment guide. The policy provides upfront guidance on the role of environmental offsets in the environmental impact assessment process, and how consideration is given to the suitability of a proposed environmental offset for matters protected under the EPBC Act. The guide gives effect to the policy's requirements through quantifying impacts and offsets for nationally threatened species and ecological communities. The policy seeks to improve the environmental outcomes that result from offsets whilst also delivering greater clarity and certainty to industry. The policy requires offsets to deliver conservation outcomes that improve or maintain the viability of the aspect of the environment that is being impacted, such as a particular type of threatened species habitat or heritage place. The policy and guide also encourage greater avoidance and minimisation of impacts by project proponents through enabling developers to clearly anticipate future costs associated with delivering offsets.
The Victorian Government’s BushTender program: is an auction approach to protecting and improving native vegetation on private land. Landholders competitively tender for agreements to better manage their native vegetation. Successful bids are those that offer the best value for money. Successful landholders receive payments for environmental services (PES) for their management actions under agreements signed with the Victorian Government. Since 2001, around 35,251 hectares of native vegetation in Victoria has been managed and protected through the BushTender program. Payment for environmental services (PES) through BushTender is currently committed at AU$17.5million.
The New South Wales Government’s BioBanking program: is a market-based scheme that provides a streamlined biodiversity assessment process for development, a rigorous and credible offsetting scheme as well as an opportunity for rural landowners to generate income by managing land for conservation. BioBanking enables 'biodiversity credits' to be generated by landowners who commit to enhance and protect biodiversity values on their land through a biobanking agreement. These credits can then be sold, generating funds for the management of the site. Credits can be used to counterbalance (or offset) the impacts on biodiversity values that are likely to occur as a result of development. The credits can also be sold to those seeking to invest in conservation outcomes, including philanthropic organisations and government. Under the BioBanking Scheme, as of 23 March 2012, nine biobanking agreements have been approved, conserving over 450 hectares of native vegetation and threatened species in perpetuity. A total of 1,272 ecosystem credits have been retired and over AU$2.4 million have been deposited into the BioBanking Trust Fund. Credit prices have ranged from AU$2,500 to AU$9,500 per credit. Over AU$530 000 in management payments have been paid out to landowners from the BioBanking Trust Fund.

Environmental Stewardship Program

The Environmental Stewardship Program: was initiated in 2007 and used a market-based approach to contract private land managers to manage matters of National Environmental Significance listed under the EPBC Act for up to 15 years. Funding is allocated through a competitive reverse auction where applicants bid to provide a range of agreed land management actions for the high public value environmental asset (represented by matters of National Environmental Significance) on their land. The programme was designed to reduce critical threats to biodiversity by enhancing the condition and resilience of habitats and landscapes through land management techniques, developed in consultation with science researchers and land managers. Since 2008, over 58,000 hectares of listed matters of National Environmental Significance have been managed for protection.

Fishery fees, grants and quotas

National park fees

Subsidies harmful to biodiversity

References

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2015
Financing Sustainable Development – What Can We Learn from the Australian Experience of Reform? Draft discussion paper submitted to Asia-Pacific High-Level Consultation on Financing for Development meeting, Jakarta, Indonesia, 29-30 April.
2014
Climate assistance
Submission 2014, including bilateral ODA and other public funds (2006-2010)
Australia review: AusAID
2013
Towards the Australian Environmental-Economic Accounts (2013), by Australian Bureau of Statistics
Victorian Experimental Ecosystem Accounts (2013), by Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria, Australia
Sovereign funds: The Future Fund (2013)
Integration: working with States and Territories, greenhouse gas emissions trading and biodiversity, Environmental Stewardship; National Landcare Program, Australia’s Farming Future, 2013
Environmental accounts landscape, 2013
An Australian environmental accounting platform, 2013
Guide to environmental accounting in Australia, 2013
About the Guide to environmental accounting in Australia, 2013
Environmental account framing workbook, 2013
2012
Several studies 2012: Environmental Stewardship Program, Conservation Auctions in New South Wales. wwf version
Case studies of biodiversity markets for forest environmental services: Biodiversity credits, Shares in Earth Sanctuaries Ltd., Tasmania Private Reserve Programme - conservation covenants & land acquisition, Access rights to Smokebush; Case studies for carbon sequestration markets: National credit scheme, Bush for Greenhouse Programme, Australian Plantation Timber sale of carbon credits, Sales of CO2 tradable rights by New South Wales State Forests, North American purchasing consortium, Landcare forestry investment & Bush for Greenhouse, Australian Afforestation Pty. Ltd. - afforestation for timber and carbon, Western Australia EcoCarbon Initiative; Case studies for landscape beauty markets: Photographic permits in Queensland; Case studies for watershed protection markets: Macquarie River Basin - transpiration credits, Salinity credit trading, Salinity-friendly products; Case studies for bundled environmental services: Environmental service trading NSW: salinity credits, biodiversity credits and carbon offsets, Hancock New Forests Australia - carbon, biodiversity, and salinity credits. (2012)
Slides
Rio marker (bio) 2002-2012
National Reports (1998, 2005, 2009)
Completing the Picture: Environmental Accounting in Practice (2012), by Australian Bureau of Statistics
Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network: (2012) Giving Green: A Guide to Environmental Grantmaking
Submission 2011: Bush Tender Program
2010
Victoria: BushBroker and Native Vegetation Offsets, New South Wales: BioBanking, Property Vegetation Plan Offsets, South Australia: Native Vegetation and Scattered Tree Offsets, Queensland: Environmental Offsets Framework Policy, Vegetation Management Offsets, Marine Fish Habitat Offsets, Koala Offsets, Western Australia: Tasmania, Status on offsets 2011
NBSAP1996, 2010
Australia's Major National Funds
Skills for green jobs in Australia (2010)
Ecosystem Services: Key Concepts and Applications (2010), by Australian Government: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
Bush Tender Programme
Markets For Ecosystem Services -Direct payments for Biodiversity in Australia
Submissions 2009, 2010: Invasive species cost Australia at least $1 billion per annum through environmental, economic and social damage
National reports: aids from Australian Agency for International Development (1998 -2010)
National submission 2010: BushBroker and Native Vegetation Offsets, BioBanking, Marine Fish Habitat Offsets
Global Institutional Philanthropy 2010: Macquarie Group Foundation, The Ian Potter Foundation, The Myer Foundation/Sidney Myer Fund, The William Buckland Foundation, Helen Macpherson Smith Trust
National reports (1998, 2005, 2010): Role of Private Sector and Case Studies
Preliminary Position Statement No.9: Environmental Offsets Comments by the Conservation Commission of Western Australia, 2010
A New Approach to Benefit Sharing in Bioprospecting, 2010, E A Evans-Illidge and P T Murphy, Australian Institute of Marine Science
2009
Biodiversity banking and offset scheme of New South Wales (NSW), Australia (2009)
National report: National Biodiversity and Climate Change Action Plan, 2009
Economic contribution of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, 2006-07. 2009. The total direct and indirect contribution of the GBRMP to the GBRCA is estimated to be just under $3.6 billion in 2006-07. The figure is larger for Queensland at just around $4.0 billion. Australia-wide, the contribution is just over $5.4 billion. These figures correspond with estimated employment contributions, direct and indirect, of 39,700 full time equivalents (FTE) of the GBRMP to the GBRCA. The employment figures for Queensland and Australia are 43,700 and 53,800 respectively.
National reports (1996, 2009): consumption, technology
National report 2009: Biodiscovery Act
2008
OECD: Australia Environmental Performance Review 2008: water trading, pollution charges, water prices, user-pays pricing and water trading rights, grant programmes, taxation measures, revolving funds, environmentally related taxes, grant programmes, taxation measures, revolving funds, environmentally related taxes, Greening of Government Program Framework Action Plan, sustainable procurement.
Economic value of biodiversity, economic values of national parks, economic value of threatened species.
Environmental expenditure, funding parks management.
International trade and the environment (endangered species, tropical timber).
BushBid auction of conservation contracts, BushTender and BushBroker programmes.
Key Studies on Tax Treatment of Conservation and Environmental Philanthropy in Australia (2008)
Submission on the Proposed Biodiversity Banking Scheme (2008)
BushBids: Biodiversity Stewardship in the Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia, O’Connor P., Morgan A. and Bond A. (2008). An initiative of the Maintaining Australia’s Biodiversity Hotspots Programme
Natural Resource Management on Australian Farms 2006-7, Australian Bureau of Statistics, June 2008.
Griffith University, Queensland-Astrazeneca: The Natural Product Discovery Unit (NPD) Partnership, 2008
Australian Sandalwood: Aveda-Mt Romance-Aboriginal Community Sourcing Partnerships in Western Australia, 2008
2007
Enabling the Market: Incentives for Biodiversity in the Rangelands (2007)
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Encouraging Environmental Philanthropy: Lessons from Australian case studies and interviews (2007)
BioBanking: Biodiversity Banking and Offsets Scheme, November 2007
Enabling the Market: Incentives for Biodiversity in the Rangelands: Report to the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Water Resources, June 2007, Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre, Alice Springs.
2006
OECD: Subsidy Reform and Sustainable Development: Economic, Environmental and Social Aspects - Water Reform and the Agricultural Sector in Australia, 2006
2005
Giving Australia: Research on Philanthropy in Australia - Summary of Findings
Integrating Mining and Biodiversity Conservation: Arid Recovery
Biodiversity certification and banking in coastal and growth areas (2005)
Market for Ecosystem Services in Australia: practical design and case studies, 2005
National reports: Tax incentives, rate rebates and concessions, voluntary instruments, 2005
Making economic valuation work for biodiversity conservation, 2005
Best Practices in Sustainable Finance - Westpac Banking Corporation, June 2005
2004
Compendium of Sustainable Agriculture Programs, Activities and References (2004)
Proceedings & Papers of the Ninth Meeting of The London Group on Environmental Accounting (2004), by Statistics Denmark
Submission 2004: Unintended consequences of policy settings for water quality, Biodiversity stewardship payments
Economic impact of weeds In Australia, February 2004. The results within a range of estimates from $3,554m to $4,532m
A Calculation of Genuine Savings for Queensland, 2004
UNEP: The use of economic instruments in environmental policies, 2004: Nutrient trading at sewage treatment plants: New South Wales
Accessing Biodiversity and Sharing the Benefits: Lessons from Implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity, Edited by Santiago Carrizosa, IUCN Environmental Policy and Law Paper No. 54, IUCN Environmental Law Programme, 2004
2003
Developing new income streams for farmers: NSW Environmental Services Scheme (2003)
Markets for ecosystem services: Applying the concepts (2003)
Hunter River Salinity Trading Scheme: Working together to protect river quality and sustain economic development. August 2003
Environment Expenditure, Local Government, Australia, 2002-03 (2004), by Australian Bureau of Statistics
Accounting for the environment in the national accounts (2003), by Australian Bureau of Statistics
2002
Creating Markets for Ecosystem Services (2002)
Auctions for Conservation Contracts: an Empirical Examination of Victoria’s BushTender Trial (2002)
Survey of Australian Philanthropic Trusts and Foundations
Submission on Green Offsets for Sustainable Development (2002)
OECD: Valuing Environmental Flows for Wetland Rehabilitation: An Application of Choice Modelling in the Macquarie Valley - Case Study: Australia, 2002
2001
Creating Markets for Biodiversity: A Case Study of Earth Sanctuaries ltd. (2001)
Constraints on Private Conservation of Biodiversity (2001)
Harnessing Private Sector Conservation of Biodiversity (2001)
Australia's Major National Funds; *Natural Heritage Trust, Australian Government Envirofund, Tasmanian Forest Conservation Fund; *Australian Rainforest Foundation; *A Revolving Fund for Biodiversity Conservation in Australia
Cost Sharing for Biodiversity Conservation, May 2001
2000
Producing National Estimates of Environmental Protection Expenditure: The application of PAC and SERIEE in Australia (2000), by UNESCAP
1999
Tax exemptions for non-profit organizations
Environment Protection Expenditure, Australia, 1995-96 and 1996-97 (1999), by Australian Bureau of Statistics
1997
National Accounts and the Environment - Papers and Proceedings from the Fourth Meeting of the London Group (1997), by Statistics Canada
Submission 1997: Taxation Policy, Ownership and Use Rights, Accreditation Schemes, Biodiversity Prospecting Contracts and the Commercialisation of Wildlife
OECD: Reforming Energy and Transport Subsidies: Environmental and Economic Implications - Modelling “Support” to the Electricity Sector in Australia. 1997
1996
Australian National Accounts. National Balance Sheet (1996), by Australian Bureau of Statistics

Valuation

Hamilton, L.S. and S.C. Snedaker (1984), Handbook for mangrove area management. East-West Environment and Policy Institute (Honolulu ), 123pp.
Queensland, Australia: Coastal wetlands Mangroves
Food - Fish in 1976 (Benefit Transfer, Annual) 1,975 USD/ha/yr

Morton, R.M. (1990), Community structure, density, and standing crop of fishes in a subtropical Australian mangrove area. Marine Biology 105: 385-394.
Moreton Bay, Eastern Australia, Australia: Coastal wetlands Mangroves
Nursery service (Direct market pricing, Annual): 5846.52 USD/ha/yr

Driml, S. (1994), Protection for profit: Economic and financial values of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and other protected areas. Townsville Qld, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Research Publication No. 35.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Catchment area, Australia: Coral Reefs
Cognitive - Science / Research (Direct market pricing, Annual): 61.03 USD/ha/yr

Pearce, D.W. and D. Moran (1994), The economic value of biodiversity. In association with the Biodiversity Programme of IUCN - The World Conservation Union, Earthscan Publications Ltd, London.
Coral reefs, Australia
Recreation - Tourism (Direct market pricing, Annual): 61 USD/ha/yr

Gerrans, P. (1994), An economic valuation of the Jandakot wetlands. Western Australia: Edith Cowan University, ISBN: 0729801756. 100pp.
Jandakot wetlands, Western Australia Inland Wetlands Swamps / marshes
Aesthetic - Attractive landscapes (Contingent Valuation, Annual): 3905.55 USD/ha/yr

Pearce, D.W. and D. Moran (1994), The economic value of biodiversity. In association with the Biodiversity Programme of IUCN - The World Conservation Union, Earthscan Publications Ltd, London.
Coral reefs
Recreation- Tourism in 1994 (Direct market pricing, Annual): 46.3 USD/ha/yr

Gren, I.M. and T. Soderqvist (1994), Economic valuation of wetlands: a survey. Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics. Beijer Discussion Paper series No. 54, Stockholm, Sweden.
Lake Wellington VIC, Australia: Inland Wetlands Floodplains
Recreation in 1993 (Benefit Transfer, Annual): 146 USD/ha/yr (3,600 ha)
Barmah VIC, Australia Inland Wetlands Floodplains
TEV in 1993 (Benefit Transfer, Annual (Range)): 123 USD/ha/yr (29,600 ha)

Hoagland, P., Y. Kaoru and J.M. Broadus (1995), A methodological review of net benefit evaluation for marine reserves. Environmental Economics Series No. 027. The World Bank, Washington, D.C., USA.
Coral reefs
Recreation- Tourism in 1994 (Direct market pricing, Annual): 509 USD/ha/yr

Blamey, R., J. Rolfe, J. Bennett and M. Morrison (2000), Valuing remnant vegetation in Central Queensland using choice modelling. The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 44(3): 439-456.
Desert Uplands, Queensland, Australia: Woodlands
Genepool - Biodiversity protection in 1997 (Contingent Valuation, One Time Payment / WTP): 3.68 AUD/household (6,881,790 ha)

Rausser, G.C. and A.A. Small (2000), Valuing research leads: bioprospecting and the conservation of genetic resources. UC Berkeley: Berkeley Program in Law and Economics. Journal of Political Economy 108(1): 173-206.
Woodlands WA, South Western, Australia: Woodlands - Meditarranean woodlands
Medical - Bioprospecting in 2000 (Factor Income / Production Function, Annual): 2.561974406 US$/ha/yr (5,470,000 ha)

Perrot-Maître, D. and P. Davis (2001), Case studies of markets and innovative financial mechanisms for water services from forests. Forest Trends, working paper.
Upper Macquarie catchment area, Australia: Temperate forest general
Waste (Water purification) in 1999 (PES, Annual): 85 AUD/ha/yr (Payment by farmers association to the state forests as salinity credit. 100 ha)

Mallawaarachchi, T., R.K. Blamey, M.D. Morrison, A.K.L. Johnson and J.W. Bennet (2001), Community values for environmental protection in a cane farming catchment in Northern Australia: a choice modelling study. Journal of Environmental Management 62(3): 301-316.
North Queensland, Australia: (1998) Contingent Valuation, Annual
  • Tropical dry forests: Genepool - Biodiversity protection: 18 AUD/ha/yr
  • Inland Wetlands: Genepool - Biodiversity protection: 2812 AUD/ha/yr

Carr, L. and R. Mendelsohn (2003), Valuing coral reefs: a travel cost analysis of the Great Barrier Reef. Ambio 32(5): 353-357.
Great Barrier Reef, Australia: Coral Reefs
Recreation - Tourism in 2003 (Travel Cost, Annual (Range)): 33.39140534 USD/ha/yr (2 Million visitor ( both domestic and international ) per year with average value between 350 and 800 USD per visitor. 34,440,000 ha

Curtis, I.A. (2004), Valuing ecosystem goods and services: a new approach using a surrogate market and the combination of a multiple criteria analysis and a Delphi Panel to assign weights to the attributes. Ecological Economics 50: 163-194.
North Queensland, Wet tropics world heritage area, Australia: Tropical Forest. In 2002, Direct market pricing, Annual (Range). surrogate market/delphi 894,400 ha
  • Food : 5.635 AUD/ha/yr
  • Genetic resources: 17.13 AUD/ha/yr
  • Water : 10.15 AUD/ha/yr
  • Air quality - Capturing fine dust: 16.195 AUD/ha/yr
  • Climate - Gas regulation: 15.955 AUD/ha/yr
  • Water flows - Water regulation: 2.58 AUD/ha/yr
  • Erosion prevention: 17.13 AUD/ha/yr
  • Waste - Water purification: 13.61 AUD/ha/yr
  • BioControl: 14.835 AUD/ha/yr
  • Extreme events- Prevention: 12.91 AUD/ha/yr
  • Recreation: 5.9 AUD/ha/yr
  • TEV: 234.465 AUD/ha/yr
  • Raw materials: 6.81 AUD/ha/yr
  • Waste - Soil detoxification: 11.97 AUD/ha/yr
  • Soil fertility - Soil formation: 2.345 AUD/ha/yr
  • Soil fertility - Nutrient cycling: 9.155 AUD/ha/yr
  • Pollination: 8.45 AUD/ha/yr
  • Nursery - Refugia for migratory and resident species: 20.185 AUD/ha/yr
  • Genepool - Biodiversity protection: 23.235 AUD/ha/yr
  • Genepool - Biodiversity protection: 7.745 AUD/ha/yr
    • Cultural service Cultural values: 12.675 AUD/ha/yr

McArthur, L.C. and J.W. Boland (2006), The economic contribution of seagrass to secondary production in South Australia. Ecological Modelling 196(1-2): 163-172.
Seagrass beds, Spencer Gulf, Australia: Coastal Seagrass/algae beds
Nursery service in 2001 (Factor Income / Production Function, Annual): 133.23 US$/ha/yr (850,000 ha)

Blackwell, B.D. (2006), The economic value of Australia’s natural coastal assets: some preliminary findings. Australian and New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics Conference Proceedings, Ecological Economics in Action, December 11-13, 2005, New Zealand.
Total Economic Value, Annual, 2005
  • Open sea, Australia -Marine: 453.14 AUD/ha/yr (1,025,615,000 ha)
  • Estuaries, Coastal area, Australia -Coastal Estuaries: 41055.63 AUD/ha/yr (1,659,200 ha)
  • Seagrass/algae beds, Coastal area of Australia -Coastal Seagrass/algae beds: 34172.27 AUD/ha/yr (5,121,700 ha)
  • Coral reefs, Australia -Coral Reefs: 10923.83 AUD/ha/yr (4,896,000 ha)
  • Shelf, Coastal area of Australia -Coastal Continental Shelf Sea: 2895.04 AUD/ha/yr (206,520,000 ha)
  • Tropical forest, Australia -Tropical Forest: 3608.91 AUD/ha/yr
  • Temperate/boreal forest, Australia -Forests and Boreal: 543.04 AUD/ha/yr
  • Grass/rangelands, Australia -Grasslands: 417.17 AUD/ha/yr
  • Tidal marsh/mangroves, Australia -Coastal wetlands Mangroves: 17963.64 AUD/ha/yr (2,179,000 ha)
  • Swamps/floodplains, Australia -Inland Wetlands Swamps / marshes: 35208.01 AUD/ha/yr
    • Lakes/rivers, Australia -Fresh water Open water 15280.78 AUD/ha/yr
  • Croplands, Australia -Cultivated Croplands: 165.43 AUD/ha/yr

Donaghy, P., S. Chambers and I. Layden (2007), Estimating the economic consequences of incorporating BMP and EMS in the development of an intensive irrigation property in central Queensland.
Arcturus Downs, Queensland, Australia: Inland Wetlands - Floodplains
Genepool- Biodiversity protection in 2005 (Benefit Transfer, Annual): 11.65983607 AUD/ha/yr (732 ha)

Acess Economics (2008), The economic contribution of GBRMP - Report 2006-2007. Access Economics PTY Ltd. For Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Australia.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Catchment area, Australia: Coral Reefs. Direct market pricing, Annual. 34,540,000 ha
  • Coral reefs: Recreation -Tourism in 2003: 0.095541401 USD/ha/yr (The service area mentioned is not include catchment areas out side Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. But the estimated value was based on the total catchment areas. Consider both the direct and indirect value add from tourism.)
  • Coral reefs: Food - Fish in 2006: 3.300521135 USD/ha/yr (Gross value production from wild harvest)
  • Aquaculture: Food - Fish in 2006: 1.476548929 USD/ha/yr (Gross value production from aquaculture; The calculation exclude the contributions of processing, marketing and transport.)
  • Coral reefs: Recreation- Tourism in 2006: 2.808338159 USD/ha/yr (Value added from recretional fishing and other recreational activities.)
Proceedings & Papers of the Ninth Meeting of The London Group on Environmental Accounting, including Australia, Canada, China (Peoples Republic of), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Republic of Moldova, South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom, by Statistics Denmark, 2004