Rogers AA, Burton MP, Statton J, Fraser M, Kendrick G, Sinclair E, Gorman D, Vanderklift M, Verduin J, McLeod IM (2019). Benefits and costs of alternate seagrass restoration approaches. Report to the National Environmental Science Program, Marine Biodiversity Hub. The University of Western Australia.
Overview
Integrated economic frameworks can be used to understand the trade-offs between different marine habitat restoration projects, and establish which restoration configurations will deliver the largest benefits relative to costs. Here we use a benefit-cost analysis to explore how key factors influence the viability of seagrass restoration projects in Western Australia. We compared the costs of: replanting and reseeding methods, professional and volunteer-based methods, urban and remote locations, and, different spatial extents. Economic benefits were estimated for the carbon sequestration capabilities of restored meadows, and for the non-market (intangible) values that seagrass habitats generate. With the exclusion of the professional-labour replanting scenarios, where costs exceeded benefits, all scenarios had positive net present values. Contingent on the assumptions made, the most worthwhile investments are larger-scale, volunteer-based restoration projects that employ the reseeding method.
