Value
of Habitat in the Upper South East
Darla Hatton MacDonald
Policy
and Economic Research Unit
Abstract:
What influences people's choices
when it comes to decisions about different
configurations of habitat and agricultural
land? To answer this question, Dr
Darla Hatton MacDonald has undertaken
a choice modelling study and produced
a series of "willingness to pay" estimates
for wetlands, grassy woodlands and scrubland
areas.
Her survey asked about people’s
connections to the Upper South East (to
agriculture and to the environment),
and provided a series of options for
land management – including how
we are to pay for new projects to increase
the area of good quality habitat, alongside
general socio-economic questions.
The Upper South East was chosen because
it is an important area for a number
of rare and endangered species of animals,
birds and plants. A lot of scientific
work has also been done in the area and
this information was used in putting
together the survey.
"Putting the tangible benefits of agricultural
production and some of the more intangible
values into the same context, dollars,
allows for a closer examination of the
conflicting issues and values," explains
Dr Hatton MacDonald. "There are so many
pressures to clear and develop land.
It is important to demonstrate the economic
value of what is to be preserved and
slow the rate of biodiversity loss.”
"The challenge for governments interested
in both these intangible benefits to
society and regional economic growth
is in establishing appropriate means
of trading off benefits accruing across
society."
The survey was coordinated by CSIRO
Land and Water on behalf of the South
Australian Department for Land, Water
and Biodiversity Conservation, with both
State and Commonwealth funding.
About the speaker:
Canadian-trained natural resource economist Darla
Hatton McDonald has been with the Policy and
Economic Research Unit (PERU) at CSIRO Land and
Water for five years.
She received a Ph.D. in natural resource
economics from the University of Alberta
in 1998, a Masters degree in Economics
in 1991 (University of Alberta) and a
B.A. Honours (University of Regina) in
1988.
Darla's interests lie in the application
of economic theory and principles to
the understanding of linkages between
human behavior and bio-physical and/or
built environments. Her work in Australian
natural resource management issues has
centered around incorporating externalities
in the price of water, development of
market based instruments, property rights
and institutional arrangements and choice
modelling. Her work in choice
modelling ensures that non-market benefits
of the environment are given a quantitative
edge and included in decision making.
She is currently leading projects in
the Urban Water Externalities Program
(within the Water for a Healthy Country
National Research Flagship) and has recently
been appointed 'Stream Leader' of the
Policy and Economic Research Unit (PERU).
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Auctions
for Enhancing Biodiversity and Water
Quality:
Presenting the Catchment Care MBI Pilot Project
in the Onkaparinga Catchment
Brett Bryan
Policy
and Economic Research Unit
Chair: Steve Gatti, Technical
Manager, Onkaparinga
Catchment Water Management Board
Abstract:
CSIRO has been working closely
with the Onkaparinga
Catchment Water Management Board to
improve the distribution of grants for
natural resource management. The new
framework could be adapted for use in
other regions.
Funded under the Commonwealth’s National
Market-Based Instruments (MBI) Pilots Program, Catchment
Care builds on Victoria’s BushTender scheme – this
time taking an auction approach to the distribution
of funds to landholders for on-ground watercourse
and riparian zone restoration/protection.
The objective of the Catchment Care framework is
to increase the environmental benefits of cost-sharing
funds by creating a market for the provision of
ecosystem services by landholders. Under Catchment
Care, landholders are invited to submit bids to
the Board for funding private environmental restoration
and protection works.
A first-price sealed bid auction system was designed
that ranks bids in terms of an Environmental Benefits
score. The Environmental Benefits score of each
bid is calculated from the level of environmental
risk of the proposed site, the reduction in threats
achieved by proposed landholder actions, and the
area over which the actions are proposed. Efficiency
is achieved by selecting the bids that offer the
highest environmental benefits per funding dollar.
The Catchment Care framework has been put through
a full trial and significant interest was generated
with 29 landholder bids submitted. A total of 17
bids were selected, landholders were contracted
and funded to the tune of $150,000.
Analysis suggests that the Catchment Care system
significantly increases the amount of environmental
benefits achieved by public funds for on-ground
works when compared to other devolved grant approaches.
The framework shows great promise and this talk
should lead to considerable discussion.
About the speaker
Dr Brett Bryan is
a senior research scientist in the Policy
and Economic Research Unit of CSIRO Land
and Water. Brett has a PhD in systematic
landscape planning from the University
of Adelaide and comes from a background
in environmental studies, biophysical
and social geography. Prior to joining
CSIRO Land and Water in 2003, Brett was
a senior lecturer in spatial information
science at the University of Adelaide.
He has over 15 years experience in the
integration and analysis of spatial information
and has conducted research in China,
India, Indonesia, the United States and
many parts of Australia. Brett works
at the interface of social, economic
and environmental processes and his current
research is focused on integrated modelling,
assessment, decision analysis and policy
design for multiple objective natural
resource management.
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Lower River
Murray Floodplain Vegetation Health:
Impacts of Salinity and River Flows
Ian
Overton and
Ian Jolly
Surface Water and Groundwater Interactions research group
(within the Hydrology research program)
Chair: Glen
Walker, Stream
Leader, Surface Water and Groundwater Interactions research group
Abstract:
The native riparian vegetation communities on the
floodplains of the lower River Murray in South
Australia are suffering severe health decline.
The primarily cause of the decline is salinisation
of the floodplain soils due to rising saline
groundwater. Rises in the naturally saline groundwater
levels are due to a combination of the effects
of constantly high weir pool levels from river
regulation and the development of irrigation
areas adjacent to the floodplain. River regulation
has also led to reduced frequency and duration
of the floods that leach salt from the plant
root zone and provide an important source of
water. Recent estimates suggest that ~40% (40,000
ha) of the floodplain in South Australia is severely
degraded by soil salinisation and it is probable
that this will increase in the future. Hence
there is a need for tools to assist in the prediction
of the impact of irrigation and river management
on floodplain salinisation, and the benefits
that may be derived from improved management.
This seminar will summarise the research that
CSIRO Land and Water has been carrying out over
the last 5 years that is assisting the lower
River Murray managers and policy makers in addressing
this serious environmental issue.
About the Speakers:
Ian
Overton is a spatial
eco-hydrologist in CSIRO Land and Water.
He has had 13 years experience in spatial
information science with particular
expertise in spatial modelling of environmental
systems. Ian’s current
research is on the assessment of environmental
flow and groundwater management options
in the Lower River Murray to conserve
floodplain vegetation health. His
recent projects include the River Murray
Flood Inundation Model, spatial modelling
of floodplain risk from irrigation
and a vegetation health model for the
Chowilla Floodplain.
Ian
Jolly is a Principal Experimental
Scientist in CSIRO Land and Water where
he is the leader of the team researching
river and floodplain salinity and water
availability issues. He has over 20
years river, groundwater and soil salinity
experience in the South Australian
Department of Agriculture and in CSIRO.
His specialties include groundwater
recharge and discharge processes and
estimation, processes of soil salinisation
in shallow water table areas, plant
water use responses to soil and water
salinisation and waterlogging, river
salinisation processes and trend detection,
and design of evaporation basins for
disposal of saline irrigation drainage
water.
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