The monetary value of 16 services protected by the Australian National Biosecurity System: Spatially explicit estimates and vulnerability to incursions

Abstract

Biosecurity systems protect numerous assets, distributed differentially across space. Focusing on Australia’s 56 natural resource management regions, we generate spatially explicit estimates of the current value of 16 different services generated by assets that are protected by the biosecurity system (hereafter values). Benefit transfer functions are used to generate some values; others are derived from observable market data. Across all regions and services, we estimate an aggregate value of approximately $250b p.a. Nearly 90% of those values are ecosystem service values, associated with Australia’s Natural Capital and more than one-half are services not normally bought or sold in the marketplace (e.g., a subset of cultural and most regulating services). We use insights from the literature, in conjunction with our values, to estimate the potential losses that (a) weeds and (b) invertebrates, could inflict in different regions – hereafter, vulnerabilities (potential $ losses per hectare p.a.). Urban areas are generally more vulnerable than remote areas, and many regions are more vulnerable to invertebrates than weeds, but weed vulnerabilities dominate in several of the large, remote, NRMs across the north, in the ‘outback’ and in the west. Our values can be used to assess the vulnerability of natural capital, and other capitals, to a wide range of other threats and are thus of potential use in numerous policy settings. Our generic approach to considering impacts at large geographic scale (using values and then assessing vulnerabilities) is one that is useful and transferrable to other settings across the world.