Do the public gains from vegetation protection in north-western New South Wales exceed the landholders' loss of land value?

Abstract

Protection of native vegetation on farms provides many gains for the public as a whole, but may also lead to losses in property value for the landholders. At least 41% of Moree Plains Shire remains in native vegetation, most of which is grazed extensively and all of which must now be protected under recent laws. A benefit-cost analysis was combined with a risk simulation to estimate these gains and losses. The data collection stage of the analysis included a synthesis of the literature on the relationship between protection and land values. The analysis showed that protection of native vegetation leads to substantial public gains and to considerable losses in land value in this region. The public gains and the private losses are of the same magnitude, so there may be an economic case for protection. But the size of the landholders' losses demonstrates the need to better balance the gains and losses through policies to target protection and to redistribute the costs between the landholder and the community.