Case study 4: Economic value of the GBRWHA The GBR is the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem and contains a globally unique array of interconnected ecological communities, habitats and species. The integrity of these diverse ecosystems is managed by the Australian Government GBR Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) in cooperation with the Queensland government. The area is a multiple-use marine park and supports a range of uses and activities. In March 2013, Deloitte Access Economics estimated that the total Australia-wide valueadded 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. Table 1: Economic contribution of the GBR and catchment to Australia Source: Deloitte Access Economics Over 90 per cent of the direct economic activity in the region comes from tourism. Recreation, which covers household recreational activity by those who live in the GBR catchment area, contributed just over AU$240 million in value-added and about 2 800 full time jobs. Recreational activity covers both trip-related expenditure for fishing, boating, sailing and visiting islands and household expenditure on recreational equipment. Australia’s biodiversity also forms the basis of many of our primary production industries, such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The services biodiversity provides to these industries include by pollinating plants, contributing to soil health and recycling nutrients. Biodiversity is also the basis for the production of many other important human services, such as medicines. From an economic perspective, Australia’s capital base by volume is more or less evenly spread between our produced capital (AU$4.2 billion) and our natural capital (AU$4.7 billion) (ABS, 2012). Case study 5 below provides a snapshot of the economic value of the Murray-Darling Basin region.
Objective III: Plant diversity is used in a sustainable and equitable manner (GSPC Targets 11, 12,13; with linkages to Aichi Targets 4,6,18) Partnership is working to share information through the Atlas of Living Australia on methods for germinating and re-establishing native flora to support the restoration industry. GSPC 2011-2020 Objective IV: Education and awareness about plant diversity, its role in sustainable livelihoods and importance to all life on earth is promoted (GSPC Target 14) (Linkages to Aichi Target 1) Outcomes include: Australia’s eight capital city botanic gardens and 150 regional botanic gardens attract an estimated 13 million visits per year. The Australian School Curriculum: Science has three interrelated strands: Science Understanding, Science as a Human Endeavour and Science Inquiry Skills. The content of the Science Understanding strand will inform students’ understanding of contemporary issues, such as biodiversity, climate change, use of resources, and the origins of the universe. The NGO, Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC) undertakes education and training with a range of stakeholders. Promotion of multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral interactions amongst organisations, supporting GSPC objectives GSPC 2011-2020 Objective V: The capacities and public engagement necessary to implement the Strategy have been developed (GSPC Targets 15, 16; with linkages to Aichi Targets 20,17) Outcomes include the ABCS, the Australian Seed Bank Partnership and the ALA. These examples are detailed elsewhere in this report. Promotion of multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral interactions amongst organisations, supporting GSPC objectives