Media Release
August 1 2008
Catchment values under scrutiny
UniSA’s
International Graduate School of
Business has won a $100,000 research grant to help SA Water
determine the economic value of water catchments under its management.
The project, Valuation and investment in catchment management: methods for determining the value of catchments as assets for internal and external planning and policy development, will work out how to value the environmental, social and economic potential of water catchments to the community and investors.
Academic Director in Sustainable Business at the International Graduate School of Business (IGSB) and principal researcher, Dr Geoff Wells, says the aim of the project is to develop a best practice framework to place a true value on water catchments and projected investment in them.
“In South Australia we understand very well the critical nature of our water supply in providing both private and public goods and services,” Dr Wells said.
“Catchments are complex systems in which environmental, social and economic elements interact and materially affect the quantity and quality of water available to users.
“This project will draw on the disciplines of environmental and natural resource economics, and sustainable business, to develop an integrated framework for valuing catchments across the full range of their values.
“We hope this framework will assist planners and policy developers to direct investment with precision and deliver the greatest value to all catchment stakeholders and users. This has to include the public’s stake in the environmental integrity of the watershed.”
The researchers will conduct case studies of two South Australian catchments and have access to UniSA’s Sustainable Communities Research and Innovation cluster, a recent UniSA initiative designed to provide a multi-disciplinary base of expertise in areas important to South Australia.
“Many of the environmental issues we face in the modern day are critical and complex. To solve them we need a multidisciplinary base,” Dr Wells said.
“Universities are in the box seat to address these kinds of issues. We are central repositories of knowledge in so many areas such as water, climate change and sustainable business, and can play an important role in solving them.”
Dr Wells will work in collaboration with internationally recognised water valuation economist, Dr Lucy Emerton, Head of the Global Economics and the Environment Program for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The period of the research grant is one year for the first phase of the research, and a subsequent phase is projected.
Contacts for interview
- Dr Geoff Wells office (08) 8302 0646 mobile 0409 671 151 email geoffrey.wells@unisa.edu.au
Media contact
-
Linda Hein office (08) 8302 0965 mobile 0411 257 029
email linda.hein@unisa.edu.au