Environmental economics
Our quality of life depends not only on a strong economy, but also on a healthy natural environment. We also have realised that the natural environment is a major contributor to the economy through our exploitation of many goods, such as fish and timber, minerals and water.
But our natural environment also provides many functions known as 'ecosystem services', which are often invisible for most of us. For example, the capacity of the environment to assimilate waste and pollution or the pollination of crops by native insects provides significant economic benefits. Yet, when it comes to approving project developments or developing policies related to natural resources, the economic value of these ecosystem services is not always taken into account.
Environmental impact assessment guidelines
- Environmental economic valuation: an introductory guide for policy-makers and practitioners (PDF, 1.4M)*
- Introduction to environmental economic valuation and its relationship to environmental impact assessment (PDF, 128K)*
- Techniques for environmental economic valuation (PDF, 140K)*
- Interim Net Benefit Assessment operational policy and guideline (PDF, file unavailable)*
Economics Techniques series
- Fact sheet No 1 - Choice modelling (PDF, 126K)*
Market Based Instruments for Improving Water Quality
The following documents describe how market based instruments can be used to improve the water quality of Moreton Bay.
The waterways and catchments of South East Queensland (SEQ) continue to experience water quality challenges with pollution from both rural and urban areas contributing significant amounts of nutrients and sediments to Moreton Bay. One potential tool to support water quality improvements is nutrient offset trading. Nutrient offset trading provides a mechanism for counterbalancing any potential or proposed increase in nutrients being released to a water body with an equivalent nutrient reduction elsewhere.
The Department of Environment and Resource Management supported by funding provided by the Australian Government has been investigating the use of nutrient trading to reduce pollution entering Moreton Bay.
A background to water quality offsets is provided in the Scoping Study on a Nutrient Trading Program to Improve Water Quality in Moreton Bay (PDF, 1.7M)*. This report assesses the cost-effectiveness of using nutrient trading options between sources in Moreton Bay. A framework for a nutrient offsets scheme is given in the report A Nutrient Offsets Scheme to Improve Water Quality in Moreton Bay (PDF, 1.0M)*.
A methodology was developed to ensure that water quality offsets provide equivalent ecological outcomes. The report Water Quality Metric for Nutrients Offsets for Moreton Bay, Queensland (PDF, 516K)* presents a basis for establishing environmental equivalency ratios between different nutrient source types taking into account current environmental conditions and nutrient loads.
The Moreton Bay Water Quality Offsets, Final Report (PDF, 1.0M)* outlines the framework for an offsets scheme and includes a case study of their potential use in the Logan Albert catchment. The legislative and policy context supporting the use of water quality offsets is also provided.
This project provides an additional management tool for addressing water quality issues in the Moreton Bay catchment and provides support to the Department of Environment and Resource Management’s Operational Policy on Waste Water Discharges to Queensland Waters. The proposed commencement of the water quality offset section of the Operational Policy on Waste Water Discharges to Queensland Waters will, for the first time, enable offsets to be used to directly counterbalance the impacts of waste water discharges into Queensland waterways.
- Development of a Water Quality Metric, for Nutrient Offsets for Moreton Bay, Queensland (PDF, 1.0M)*
- Scoping Study on a Nutrient Trading Program to improve Water Quality in Morton Bay (PDF, 1.7M)*
- Moreton Bay Water Quality Offsets Scheme, Final Report, June 2008 (PDF, 1.0M)*
- Nutrient Offsets Scheme to Improve Water Quality in Moreton Bay (PDF, 516K)*
Improving the way we use and manage rural land can reduce the sediments, nutrients and other pollutants entering the waterways of south-east Queensland. The Development of a water quality metric for south-east Queensland (PDF, 1.6M)* report provides a framework allowing decision makers to assess the relationship between on-ground actions and consequent changes in delivered sediment loads. This will help landowners and waterway managers make good decisions about cost-effective management interventions. The report has been produced as part of the Healthy Country project under the South East Queensland Healthy Waterways Strategy 2007–2012.
More information about the Healthy Country project can be found at Healthy Waterways.
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Last updated 4 September 2009