The link between nature and the economy couldn’t be clearer than in a place like the Great Ocean Road.
Every year, millions of people flock into south-west Victoria, with over 2 million people visiting the main attraction: the magnificent Twelve Apostles.
The Great Ocean Road generates $1.9 billion tourism dollars across the region each year, along with nearly 10,000 local jobs.
All this depends on the health of the coastline. Caring for nature is a vital part of the region’s success.
As part of their sustainable management approach, the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) is embracing natural capital accounting to inform management and investment decisions for the region.
In late 2024, the Victorian Government Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, (DEECA) published a set of environmental economic accounts (EEA) for the region.
The accounts show that the region delivers a range of ecosystem services that provide significant value to society, including recreation and tourism, coastal protection and climate regulation.
The accounts also show that the ecosystems within the region are important for threatened flora and fauna populations. For example, the figure below shows the location of critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable fauna populations throughout the region.
The accounts provide a useful set of information for high-level investment and environmental management decision-making. A DEECA spokesperson told the Surf Coast Times that:
‘The coast and parks along the Great Ocean Road are so important to Victoria that is critical that we do as much as we can to protect them for future generations to enjoy.
Land management, planning and investment decisions for the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks will be informed by the latest research, including this EEA to ensure a consistent and holistic approach.’
Next steps for the region
In 2024 and 2025, IDEEA Group worked with GORCAPA on their Natural Capital Roadmap. This is a five-year plan for the region’s future, outlining GORCAPA’s purpose and role in managing natural capital. From there, the Roadmap details the actions GORCAPA can take to embed a natural capital approach into their operations.
The Roadmap supports a sustainable future for the region by:
- helping the organisation tell the story of the benefits the environment provides to the wider community and the impacts of their work
- embedding natural capital in planning, decision-making and investment prioritisation
- operationalising the EEA and building internal capacity around natural capital accounting.
Find out more
Our Senior Economist, Ziggy Gelman was a key member of the team that developed the EEA at DEECA. Ziggy is now working at IDEEA Group and supported GORCAPA through their Roadmap process. Ziggy is available to discuss your natural capital journey, no matter where you’re starting from. Perhaps you’re at the very beginning and are just learning about natural capital accounting, or perhaps you’re further down the track.
Reach out to us at any time to discuss your natural capital journey.
Read more about GORCAPA’s approach here.
Find out more about the Natural Capital Roadmap process here.