A healthy environment is the bedrock of all life on earth. Living among nature comes with a responsibility to protect it – a principle that dates back over 5,000 years to the earliest recorded instances of ecological awareness.
Fast forward to today, however, and our climate is under ever-increasing threat. And while temperatures rise and pollution mounts, companies across the globe continue to prioritise profits over environmental protection.
But what if we told you that protecting the environment makes economic sense too?
In late February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released its first quantification of the economic value of Australia’s national ecosystem. Partnering with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), the National Ecosystem Account compiles data about landscapes and habitats, and their link to economic and other human activities. The accounts encompass Australia’s diverse landscape, including terrestrial, marine and freshwater realms.
So, how exactly does the natural environment support our economy?
According to the World Economic Forum, over half of the world’s total GDP, worth US$44 trillion dollars, is moderately or highly dependent on nature (World Economic Forum, 2023).
Economic value is borne of material assets, including timber, water, fibre and foliage. At other times, environmental assets such as water and grazed materials are used in production, upholding our agriculture, energy and construction sectors. Other environmental value is realised through the self-regulation that occurs in natural ecosystems, including erosion and sedimentation control, water purification, carbon sequestration and nutrient recycling (CSIRO, 2021).
Below, a handful of benefits are provided as examples!
Material benefits
Australia’s natural landscapes provide resources that are harvested and sold.
Commercial fishing depends on several ecological landscapes in Australia, including epipelagic ocean waters, subtidal sand beds and continental and island slopes. Across 2020-21, 56.3 million kg of wild fish was caught in Commonwealth fisheries, worth $39.2 million.
Surface water from river and stream biomes is also collected for consumption. In 2020-21, 1.5 million megaliters of freshwater extracted from these environments was used for drinking, which has an estimated economic value of $193 million (DCCEEW, 2025).
Production benefits
From electricity to agriculture, many of Australia’s key industries depend on natural resources.
Interestingly, the vast majority of freshwater extracted from natural landscapes is used to produce energy. Amassing 48.3 million megalitres, 82.2% of total water provisioning services garnered in 2020-21 was used to support energy generation. The most common use of water for energy generation is in the hydroelectricity sector.
Natural environments also yield forage used to feed livestock, assisting with the production of animal agriculture products. In Australia, livestock are grazed on a variety of pastures, including grasslands, woodlands, rangelands and forested areas. Between 2020-21, these ecosystems yielded 111.2 million tonnes of grazed biomass consumed by sheep and beef cattle, to an economic value of $40.4 billion (DCCEEW, 2025).
Regulating benefits
Significant economic value is derived from ecosystem functions and processes, which maintain natural landscapes.
Saltmarsh and mangrove plants dissipate wind and wind energy, reducing erosion along coastlines and beaches. People living in high-risk zones, 1m above the Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT), benefit from spared damage to their properties and community facilities. In 2020-21, the value of avoided damages to dwellings located up to 1m above HAT was estimated at $65 million.
Critically, native forests, grasslands and savannas also store carbon, contributing to emissions offsetting and climate regulation. Across 2020-21, 34.5 million kilotonnes of stored carbon (ktC) were retained in natural ecosystems, to an estimated value of $43.2 billion (DCCEEW, 2025).
Supporting our industries
Various sectors rely on the natural environment for the provision of experiential goods and services.
Sectors with a moderate to high direct dependency on nature, including real estate, hospitality, transport and logistics, contribute approximately 33.1% of Australia’s GDP, equating $602.7 billion (Australian Conservation Foundation, 2022).
Our stunning natural environment is of Australia’s greatest calling cards. Each year, over a million people visit our country to bask in scenic views that are unique to Australia. In turn, the nature-based tourism sector contributes $23 billion to the Australian economy each year (National Parks Association Queensland, 2023).
One of Queensland’s great wonders, the Great Barrier Reef, delivers $12 trillion worth of natural ecosystem services and supports over 64,000 jobs. Kakadu National Park – a gem of the Northern Territory – supports more than 1,180 jobs and contributes $136 million to Australia’s economy annually (Australian Conversation Foundation, 2022).
Supporting our health and wellbeing
The benefits of living in healthy environment compound when considering the value of aesthetic enjoyment, and psychological and physical wellbeing.
Savings in the healthcare sector can be attributed to reduced stress due to time spent in nature, and improved health outcomes due to the consumption of quality drinking water and food grown in fertile soils. Visiting protected environmental areas at least monthly improves the health of visitors by up 17%, reducing direct healthcare costs by 0.6% of Australia’s GDP. Globally, healthcare savings of US$2.1 trillion per annum are attributed to improved mental health as a result of time spent in nature (Research Gate, 2022).
Research suggests that proximity to green space can even increase property prices by an average of 2.6% (Alluvium, 2022) and serves as a major attractor of new residents in developing areas. As it turns out, the desire to live among nature is shared by many.
Nature is invaluable
While it can be difficult to put a precise figure on the full economic value of our natural world, its influence on Australia’s prosperity is undeniable.
Protecting our natural environment is not only a moral imperative – it’s a smart economic strategy.
As the data shows, a thriving natural environment is one of our greatest economic assets. Stewardship of the environment is as vital today as it was 5,000 years ago – only now, we have the numbers to prove it.
