A framework to inform economic valuation of non-use benefits from coral-reef intervention efforts

Healthy coral reefs hold significant value to society, not just from industries such as tourism or fishing, but by their very existence. These so-called ‘non-use benefits’ are increasingly endangered as the health of coral reefs faces escalating threats from climate change. Yet, current observation and modelling tools that help guide reef intervention efforts typically do not provide guidance on how the impact of management actions on reef ecology flows through to changes in non-use benefits. Here, we demonstrate how ecological metrics, as measured by existing reef observation or modelling tools, can be translated to an economic valuation of non-use benefits from conservation actions on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Using our framework, we find that each additional square kilometre of reef maintained in ‘good’ or ‘very good’ condition by an intervention generates a present value of ~$4.7 million (2025 Australian dollars) in non-use benefits for the Australian public. Rigorous and transparent valuation of how reef ecosystem respond to conservation actions is critical, given the rapid rise of private investment in the nature repair market. The framework presented here offers an approach that leverages existing models and expert knowledge and is designed for application to any reef conservation action whose ecological benefits can be measured or modelled.