Abstract
In this study we analyse the benefits and costs of investing in environmental protection in regional New South Wales. We do so by generating cost-benefit analyses for three projects which aim to protect native species: the regent honeyeater in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment; the malleefowl in the Lachlan Catchment; and the booroolong frog in the Namoi Catchment. By generating benefit-cost ratios for these three cases, we demonstrate the use of choice modelling as a means to estimate the often difficult-to-determine benefits associated with environmental investment. The use of choice modelling estimates strengthens the analysis by including ‘non-monetary’ values which are often excluded from such analyses. We conclude by indicating how the benefit-cost ratios can be tabulated to offer a comparison of investments, thus demonstrating how this approach gives policy makers a useful quantitative decision support tool when considering investments. Access to such information allows for the funding of only those investments that cause an improvement in the well-being of society and the prioritisation of competing proposals.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the Lachlan, Namoi and Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Authorities for their support.
Notes
1. CM has been applied in a wide range of environmental management contexts ranging from ecosystem resilience (Scheufele & Bennett Citationin press) to kerbside recycling (Gillespie & Bennett Citationin press).
2. Though the specific choice of interest (discount) rate is open to debate, once chosen it can be subjected to sensitivity analysis as in step 8 (Hanley & Barbier Citation2009).