This preliminary estimate of the value of ecoservices in the Brisbane Region was prepared by BREC in 1997. We used data from the first State of the Brisbane River Report and a paper in Nature to derive the estimates. The authors of the Nature article note that their values of ecoservices are significant underestimates. The importance of forests in Australian ecosystems to nutrient and water cycling will perhaps increase their estimated value by an order of magnitude. Those with accounting talent should, for fun, compute the Nett Present Value(NPV) of these natural assests.
| Brisbane Region Environment Council 1997 | |||
| The value of Ecological Services | |||
| Biome | Value($/yr) | ||
| Forest | $969.00 | ||
| Floodplains | $19500.00 | ||
| Swamp | $19500.00 | ||
| Mangrove | $14700.00 | ||
| Saltmarsh | $14700.00 | ||
| SeaGrass | $19000.00 | ||
| Estuary | $22832.00 | ||
| Coastal Ocean | $4052.00 | ||
| The Bay ? | $13442.00 | ||
| Brisbane Catchment & Bay | |||
| Biome | Area(Ha) | ||
| Forest | 433000.00 | ||
| Mangrove | 11435.00 | ||
| Saltmarsh | 3519.00 | ||
| SeaGrass | 19554.00 | ||
| Bay | 110000.00 | ||
| Value of Ecological Services to Brisbane R and Moreton Bay | Value($/yr) | Value($Billion/yr) | |
| Forest | $419577000.00 | 0.42 | |
| Mangrove | $168094500.00 | 0.17 | |
| Saltmarsh | $51729300.00 | 0.05 | |
| SeaGrass | $371526000.00 | 0.37 | |
| Bay | $1478620000.00 | 1.48 | |
| 1.46 | $ Billion pa | Low | |
| Totals | 2.49 | $ Billion pa | Medium |
| 3.52 | $ Billion pa | High | |
| References | |||
| BRMG - State of Brisbane River and Moreton Bay 1996 | |||
| Costanza R et al "The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital" Nature 1997 |