A major report co-authored by a senior Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher has found a moderate improvement to the environments of the Murray River and associated Coorong wetlands in South Australia is worth $7.5 billion to Australian households.

 

The report, titled Economic valuation of environmental benefits in the Murray-Darling Basin was commissioned by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MBDA).

 

The report’s authors, Professor Mark Morrison, a senior environmental economist with CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society, and Dr Darla Hatton MacDonald from CSIRO, found that an improvement in the quality of the Coorong from poor to good is worth $4.3 billion, and that a moderate improvement in the quality of the Murray is worth over $3.2 billion, totalling $7.5 billion.

“This excludes the value of improvements in other catchments such as the Macquarie and Murrumbidgee Rivers in NSW and the Goulburn River in Victoria. It also does not include the value of increased recreation opportunities in the Basin or from reduced damage costs from improving water quality,” said Professor Morrison.

 

“What the report does indicate is the relative value that households across Australia have for different aspects of river health, including native vegetation, native fish populations, waterbird species and the frequency of waterbird breeding.  It also provides information about the value of increased recreational opportunities, and the magnitude of cost-savings from improving drinking water quality for downstream communities. 

 

However, Professor Morrison also pointed out that more information was needed to account for the interests of communities in the Basin.

 

“We need to know what communities will be willing to pay for increasing native vegetation and fish populations, and the frequency of waterbird breeding from any reallocation of water. This information is vital for helping to estimate the costs and benefits of changing the health of rivers across the Murray Darling Basin,” he said.