Revegetation of Regent Honeyeater habitat in the Capertee Valley: a Cost-Benefit Analysis

This study considers the costs and benefit of the Regent Honeyeater Project in the Capertee Valley over the past 10 years. The benefits are estimated using choice modelling and the costs are based on project expenditure and forgone agricultural production. A comparison of the benefits and costs yields a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 4.45, which implies that the benefits outweigh the costs. However, variation in the underlying assumptions reveal significant sensitivity to the uncertainty associated with the maturation of native tree plantings and the successful establishment of a significant population of birds within the native vegetation. The Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) is dominated by the benefit derived from protection of the native species (i.e. the Regent Honeyeater) which in turn depends on these two uncertainties. By expanding the total area of land being revegetated and reducing the fragmentation amongst individual plantings these uncertainties can be reduced. This should deliver larger benefits and further improve the BCR.Cost-benefit analysis, Benefit-cost ratio, Choice modelling, Regent Honeyeater, Capertee Valley, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Protecting the Booroolong Frog in the Namoi Catchment: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

The Booroolong frog project in the Namoi Catchment represents an environmental investment to protect the species and around 10.7 kilometres of its habitat in the catchment. The project’s benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 8.6 indicates that the benefits outweigh the costs by a significant margin. The measures introduced by landholders, at relatively low cost, should therefore result in a significant return on investment upon project completion in 10 years time. The benefits are estimated using a choice modelling study which was recently developed for the valuation of investment in natural resource management in the Namoi Catchment. As this is a largely ex ante cost-benefit analysis, the BCR is subject to uncertainty associated with assumptions which had to be made for some variables. However, sensitivity analysis indicates that the project benefits outweigh the costs by a significant margin even under conservative conditions.Cost-benefit analysis, Benefit-cost ratio, Choice modelling, Booroolong Frog, Namoi Catchment, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Cost-Benefit Analysis of the protection of Malleefowl in the Lachlan Catchment

A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of an investment in the protection of malleefowl and associated native vegetation in the Lachlan Catchment’s central-west yielded a benefit-cost ratio of 1.4. The CBA is based on project expenditures over the past four years coupled with benefit estimates from a recent Choice Modelling study in the Lachlan Catchment. The project targets the protection of malleefowl on private land which has not yet been surveyed but where the species is known to be present. The CBA is subject to significant uncertainty due to a lack of available data. Nonetheless, sensitivity analysis indicates that the BCR is consistently larger than unity, if marginal in some cases. This suggests that the project is a worthwhile investment at this early stage. Furthermore, greater gains may be achieved by addressing the numerous threats facing the species and its habitat. The increased cost of such an investment may be more than offset by the gains in benefits due to relatively conservative assumptions associated with the benefit calculations in the BCA.Cost-benefit analysis, Benefit-cost ratio, Choice modelling, Malleefowl, Lachlan Catchment, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Assessing environmental protection investments in New South Wales catchments

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

Protecting the Booroolong Frog in the Namoi Catchment: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

The Booroolong frog project in the Namoi Catchment represents an environmental investment to protect the species and around 10.7 kilometres of its habitat in the catchment. The project’s benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 8.6 indicates that the benefits outweigh the costs by a significant margin. The measures introduced by landholders, at relatively low cost, should therefore result in a significant return on investment upon project completion in 10 years time. The benefits are estimated using a choice modelling study which was recently developed for the valuation of investment in natural resource management in the Namoi Catchment. As this is a largely ex ante cost-benefit analysis, the BCR is subject to uncertainty associated with assumptions which had to be made for some variables. However, sensitivity analysis indicates that the project benefits outweigh the costs by a significant margin even under conservative conditions

Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Protection of Malleefowl in the Lachlan Catchment

A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of an investment in the protection of malleefowl and associated native vegetation in the Lachlan Catchment’s central-west yielded a benefitcost ratio of 1.4. The CBA is based on project expenditures over the past four years coupled with benefit estimates from a recent Choice Modelling study in the Lachlan Catchment. The project targets the protection of malleefowl on private land which has not yet been surveyed but where the species is known to be present. The CBA is subject to significant uncertainty due to a lack of available data. Nonetheless, sensitivity analysis indicates that the BCR is consistently larger than unity, if marginal in some cases. This suggests that the project is a worthwhile investment at this early stage. Furthermore, greater gains may be achieved by addressing the numerous threats facing the species and its habitat. The increased cost of such an investment may be more than offset by the gains in benefits due to relatively conservative assumptions associated with the benefit calculations in the BCA.

Revegetation of Regent Honeyeater habitat in the Capertee Valley: a Cost-Benefit Analysis

This study considers the costs and benefit of the Regent Honeyeater Project in the Capertee Valley over the past 10 years. The benefits are estimated using choice modelling and the costs are based on project expenditure and forgone agricultural production. A comparison of the benefits and costs yields a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 4.45, which implies that the benefits outweigh the costs. However, variation in the underlying assumptions reveal significant sensitivity to the uncertainty associated with the maturation of native tree plantings and the successful establishment of a significant population of birds within the native vegetation. The Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) is dominated by the benefit derived from protection of the native species (i.e. the Regent Honeyeater) which in turn depends on these two uncertainties. By expanding the total area of land being revegetated and reducing the fragmentation amongst individual plantings these uncertainties can be reduced. This should deliver larger benefits and further improve the BCR

Revegetation of Regent Honeyeater habitat in the Capertee Valley: a Cost-Benefit Analysis

This study considers the costs and benefit of the Regent Honeyeater Project in the Capertee Valley over the past 10 years. The benefits are estimated using choice modelling and the costs are based on project expenditure and forgone agricultural production. A comparison of the benefits and costs yields a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 4.45, which implies that the benefits outweigh the costs. However, variation in the underlying assumptions reveal significant sensitivity to the uncertainty associated with the maturation of native tree plantings and the successful establishment of a significant population of birds within the native vegetation. The Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) is dominated by the benefit derived from protection of the native species (i.e. the Regent Honeyeater) which in turn depends on these two uncertainties. By expanding the total area of land being revegetated and reducing the fragmentation amongst individual plantings these uncertainties can be reduced. This should deliver larger benefits and further improve the BCR.

Protecting the Booroolong Frog in the Namoi Catchment: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

The Booroolong frog project in the Namoi Catchment represents an environmental investment to protect the species and around 10.7 kilometres of its habitat in the catchment. The project’s benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 8.6 indicates that the benefits outweigh the costs by a significant margin. The measures introduced by landholders, at relatively low cost, should therefore result in a significant return on investment upon project completion in 10 years time. The benefits are estimated using a choice modelling study which was recently developed for the valuation of investment in natural resource management in the Namoi Catchment. As this is a largely ex ante cost-benefit analysis, the BCR is subject to uncertainty associated with assumptions which had to be made for some variables. However, sensitivity analysis indicates that the project benefits outweigh the costs by a significant margin even under conservative conditions

Cost-Benefit Analysis of the protection of Malleefowl in the Lachlan Catchment

A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of an investment in the protection of malleefowl and associated native vegetation in the Lachlan Catchment’s central-west yielded a benefit-cost ratio of 1.4. The CBA is based on project expenditures over the past four years coupled with benefit estimates from a recent Choice Modelling study in the Lachlan Catchment. The project targets the protection of malleefowl on private land which has not yet been surveyed but where the species is known to be present. The CBA is subject to significant uncertainty due to a lack of available data. Nonetheless, sensitivity analysis indicates that the BCR is consistently larger than unity, if marginal in some cases. This suggests that the project is a worthwhile investment at this early stage. Furthermore, greater gains may be achieved by addressing the numerous threats facing the species and its habitat. The increased cost of such an investment may be more than offset by the gains in benefits due to relatively conservative assumptions associated with the benefit calculations in the BCA