Australia has estimated the value of the Great barrier reef
SYDNEY, June 26. /Offset. TASS Pavel Vanichkin/. The great barrier reef, stretching nearly 3 thousand kilometers along the northeastern coast of Australia, often called the natural wonder of the world, the value of which cannot be expressed in money.
Nevertheless, experts of audit and consulting Agency Deloitte Access Economics decided to try to determine the price of developing a special economic model, taking into account the influence of the Great barrier reef in all aspects of life in Australia.
In the result, which lasted six months, during which there was even conducted an international survey with participation of residents of 11 countries, found that:
“the value of total assets” of the reef is 56 billion Australian dollars (about $42 billion at current exchange rates).
According to experts of Agency, the contribution of the Great barrier reef in the tourism industry in Australia is 29 billion ($22 billion), 23.8 billion ($18 billion) was estimated “indirect and unrealized value,” in other words, the amount you are willing to pay for visits to the reef are those people who are still on it was not, but I’m going to do it. Finally, 3.2 billion ($2.4 billion) in the overall “price,” added the so-called short-term tourists, for example, Australians who visit the reef on weekends just to go diving (they don’t stay in hotels, don’t eat in restaurants, don’t buy tickets to the nearby amusement parks, etc.).
According to experts Deloitte Access Economics, last year the contribution of the Great barrier reef to the national economy amounted to 6.4 billion dollars ($4.8 billion).
In addition, the Reef has great social significance — it currently gives work to 39 thousand citizens of Queensland, employed mainly in the tourism sector. At least another 64 thousand of jobs in other areas of Australia are somehow connected with business oriented tourists the Great barrier reef.
On the reef
The great barrier reef is nearly 3 thousands of individual coral reefs and 900 Islands and is the largest on Earth natural object formed by living organisms. According to the recently published data of scientists of the Australian research Council over the past two years due to warming water in the oceans, nearly two-thirds of the corals of the Great barrier reef has lost its natural color.
“We believe that our study can play an important role in better understanding the economic values of the Great barrier reef for life — said one of the leaders of Deloitte Access Economics John O’mahony. Today, when the fate of the Great barrier reef was under threat, our information can help you in finding the most effective methods of its protection”.