Abstract

To be more specific, estimates of total value are generally only of use if seeking to describe the current state of affairs e.g. that tourism is a more significant generator of incomes in the Great Barrier Reef catchment than is fishing or if seeking to address management/policy questions, such as What losses would the region suffer if the entire reef ceased to exist? We now have a reasonably good understanding of the relative contribution of different industries to the catchment’s economy, and in most cases, managers are not faced with such all or nothing choices. So methodological approaches that generate estimates of total value may be somewhat less relevant than they were when Great Barrier Reef valuation research was in an embryonic stage. Instead, managers/policy makers are, nowadays, more likely to need answers to questions, such as what losses would the region suffer if reductions in water quality reduced the reef’s ability to provide certain ecosystem services? Or would a relocation of resources from one sector to another improve overall welfare? Importantly, for questions like these, it is marginal, not total values that one needs. Specifically, one needs information about the value of changes.