SEABORNE (Sustainable Use and Benefits of the GBR) Mk.2

Principal Investigator

Valuing GBR Ecosystem Services. SEABORNE Mk.1 (2020-2024) established a proof-of-concept method using multiple secondary datasets to calculate benefits derived from GBR ecosystem services among a subset of user groups in the Cairns and Southern GBR regions. This module will: ▪ Deliver scaled-up implementation of the SEABORNE Mk 1 proof of concept by co-designing sector-specific data prioritisation frameworks with Reef stakeholders and applying the Ecosystem Service Value Chain (ESVC) to a broader set of GBR ecosystem services, values and end users in priority spatial areas ▪ Build on existing relationships with Reef Traditional Owner groups and co-design a process to test and improve the suitability of the ESVC concept for reflecting Traditional Owner values. ▪ Fill critical valuation gaps, specifically related to GBR in-water tourism, to enable understanding of impacts on value from changes in reef condition. SEABORNE Mk.1 (2020-2024) established and tested a proof of concept to quantify benefits derived from GBR ecosystem services by end users in the Cairns and Southern GBR regions. This is called an Ecosystem Service Value Chain (ESVC). The ESVC connects human benefits with biophysical data enabling an understanding of how people use GBR ecosystems, and the extent and distribution of benefits that flow to households, Reef-dependent businesses, Traditional Owners, and Government from this use. The ESVC concept further enables existing data to be used in new ways such as generating values of total economic benefits. Working with Traditional Owner groups is an important component of this module. Based on our work with four TO groups over 2020-24 and recognising that benefit flows from ecosystem services to TOs are non-linear, we can modify the ESVC to meet the requirements of different TO groups and can apply an adapted ESVC method that utilises their own data to enable an appropriate assessment of TO use benefits. SEABORNE Mk 1. tested the ESVC concept for a limited number of prioritised chains in the Cairns Area Plan of Management (CAPOM) and Keppels Capricorn Bunkers (KCB). These were: • Provisioning service of fish & other biomass (wild caught and farmed) to commercial service users. • Cultural service of recreation and leisure (recreational & non-recreational fishing) to households. • Cultural service of education and research to Government. There is broad scope to continue the application of the ESVC concept to better understand and use existing data for measures of benefit. We propose to work with the end users of this research to apply the ESVC approach to additional priority ecosystem services within or beyond the CAPOM and Southern reef spatial focus areas. The application of the ESVC to understand existing data and gaps for existence (non-use) value in the CAPOM and KCB spatial focus areas is a suggested first extension. Refining the ESVC approach to better understand the two-way flow of value and related existing and required data for Traditional Owners is the second suggested extension. Finally, the population of the ESVCs in SEABORNE Mk. 1 highlighted a number of weaknesses in existing data. Data weaknesses occur both due to the age of primary data (e.g., >30-year-old studies of Reef users), and in some cases from retrofitting available data to new purposes. Working with end users, SEABORNE Mk. 2 will begin to address priority gaps. Enhancing the understanding of economic value associated with snorkelling and diving especially as this relates to reef quality as well as investigating equity and justice within ecosystem service flow beneficiaries is the proposed focus here.

31 Jul 2025 - 29 Jun 2029

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