Great Barrier Reef valued at $56 billion
A new Deloitte Access Economics report has found the total asset value of the Great Barrier Reef to be $56 billion.
The economists calculated the World Heritage site’s economic, social and iconic brand value to reach the staggering figure.
Many Australians believe the reef is priceless but Deloitte arrived at the figure after a six-month analysis that drew on economic and scientific sources as well as international surveys.
At $29 billion, tourism was found to be the greatest contributor to the overall value. $23.8 billion of the reef’s value came from “indirect or non-use value” which means people who haven’t yet visited the reef but value knowing it exists. $3.2 billion of its value was attributed to recreational users such as weekend divers.
Commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, the report found the reef added $6.4 billion of economic value to the Australian economy in 2015-16.
The reef employs 39,000 people directly but there are also 64,000 jobs linked to it nationally. In comparison, National Australia Bank creates 34,000 direct jobs, Telstra 33,000 and Qantas 26,000.
Great Barrier Reef Foundation director Steve Sargent said no other Australian asset contributed as much value to “Brand Australia”.
"At $56 billion, the reef is valued at more than 12 Sydney Opera Houses," he said.
"This report sends a clear message that the Great Barrier Reef – as an ecosystem, as an economic driver, as a global treasure – is too big to fail."
Former US vice-president Al Gore deemed the report as a necessary look at the reef’s value.
"Any failure to protect this indispensable natural resource would have profound impacts not only to Australia but around the world," he said.
Deloitte Access Economics partner and report author John O’Mahony labelled the reef as irreplaceable.
"With the reef under threat, our report is a major step in looking to value nature's significance in monetary terms and using this information to help inform what we do to protect and save important natural assets."
The study used various economic techniques including input-output tables, econometrics, willingness to pay analysis, sensitivity and the Brand Asset Valuator.
In the past two years, two-thirds of the reef have been impacted by unprecedented coral bleaching.