Resolving the nature and variability of the cost-effectiveness of tourism-led coral replanting on the Great Barrier Reef

Though the implementation of coral restoration is accelerating globally, project cost-effectiveness is rarely evaluated, limiting understanding of economic feasibility, effective budgeting and informed management actions. The goal of this thesis was to identify and understand the cost-effectiveness of tourism industry-led coral restoration efforts across diverse sites and tourism operations of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) via the Coral Nurture Program (CNP). This thesis evaluated (i) ‘operational’ costs of established activity in the Cairns-Port Douglas region and (ii) ‘implementation’ costs of new restoration activity in the Whitsundays, relative to coral outplant survivorship (realised costs), thereby enabling evaluation of restoration costs at different phases of program establishment and in different reef environments. The findings presented in this thesis revealed high variability in coral outplant survivorship across sites and regions of the CNP, and realised costs ranging from US$3 – 180/coral depending on whether ‘in-kind’ costs, restoration activity (outplanting only vs. costs encompassing planning, training, coral nursery maintenance, monitoring), site-based survivorship, or a combination of these factors, were considered. Collectively, these findings illustrate the complexities of extrapolating coral restoration costs and outcomes across different contexts, underscoring the importance of reporting primary cost data, and considering the cost-implications of specific socio-ecological contexts in restoration planning.

Author dc:creator

• Scott, Rachael Isabella

Statement dc:rights

• info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
• The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
• © 2023 Rachael Isabella Scott
• au.edu.uts.lib/cph

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/188969

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:opus.lib.uts.edu.au:10453/188969