Atherton Queensland

Ecosystem Services: Integrating Ecology and Economics

There is increasing recognition of the need for new tools and approaches to more effectively communicate and inform public and policy debate as to the value of services provided to the community by ecosystems, both natural and agricultural. The concept of ecosystem services is attracting increasing interest as an integrating concept which focuses on the relationship between humans and the environment, identifies benefits and beneficiaries and allows economic valuation of at least some key services provided by the community.

This project aims to:

1. Provide a comprehensive list of goods and services provided to the community by Australia's tropical rainforests.
2. Use economic methodologies for valuing marginal changes in ecosystem services associated with changes in land use.
3. Undertake economic evaluation of possible changes in ecosystem services resulting from land use scenarios associated with change in one of the major industries in the Johnstone River catchment e.g. dairy deregulation.
4. Produce an assessment of the applicability of ecosystem services approaches in better valuing water resouces in Queenslands Wet Tropics region.

Project Stakeholders

1. Natural resouce policy and management agencies:
   • Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mining (QDNR)
   • Queensland Environmental Protection Agency (QEPA)
   • Wet Tropics Management Authority (WTMA) - Project leader
   • Environment Australia (EA)
   • local authorities and catchment groups
2. Rainforest CRC
3. General public

Tor Hundloe
Level 5 Chamberlain Building
The University of Queensland
Brisbane, Queensland 4072
Ph: (07) 3365 6086
Email: tor@uq.edu.au

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