Friday, December 12, 2025 | 10:10 AM ISTहिंदी में पढें
Business Standard
Notification Icon
userprofile IconSearch

What's the economic value of the Great Barrier Reef? It's priceless

Putting a price on Great Barrier Reef - cost-benefit analysis is a way to make decisions on policies

Great Barrier Reef
premium

Great Barrier Reef. Photo: Reuters

Neil Perry | The Conversation

Deloitte Access Economics has valued the Great Barrier Reef at A$56 billion, with an economic contribution of A$6.4 billion per year. Yet this figure grossly underestimates the value of the reef, as it mainly focuses on tourism and the reef’s role as an Australian icon.

When you include aspects of the reef that the report excludes, such as the ecosystem services provided by coral reefs, you find that the reef is priceless.

Putting a price on the Great Barrier Reef buys into the notion that a cost-benefit analysis is a right way to make decisions on policies and projects