A BIO-ECONOMIC MODEL OF WETLAND PROTECTION ON PRIVATE LANDS

Wetland ecosystems on privately owned farms – such as those on the Murrumbidgee River Floodplain in the state of New South Wales, Australia – provide a mix of potentially valuable outputs to their owners and the wider community. The mix of values generated is dependent on the biophysical status of the wetlands, which in-turn, is dependent on the land management in and around these multiple-output ecosystems. Despite the range of private and public values generated, management decisions are based primarily on the private values that landowners receive. These private land management decisions also affect social values. Hence, there is potentially a demand for public policy to influence decisions based on the social values wetlands generate. This paper is predicated on the principle that good policy is reliant on information about wetland values. We present an integrated bio-economic model of wetland management that incorporates the biological and economic impacts at a landscape scale. The model reflects the multiple private and social values generated by wetlands and the dynamic nature of the trade-offs between these values. A number of broad policy conclusions for wetland management in Australia are generated from the outputs of the bio-economic model.