6. Social Values

Description

Protecting what is important for the community and users of Cockburn Sound will ensure it can be enjoyed for generations to come.

This theme will identify the most important social and environmental values to the community and users of Cockburn Sound. Research will inform strategic port design and identify opportunities to create social benefits.

Aims

• Identify and quantify community values and perceptions of environmental assets that may be impacted by port development in Cockburn Sound.
• Identify the types and values of different recreational fishing activities in Cockburn Sound and how these may be impacted by the port development, and identify cost-effective strategies to boost recreational fishing activities.
• Form a detailed and spatial understanding of the types and values of non-fishing recreational activities in the Sound, including an economic evaluation of key sites.
• Compare and evaluate options for best-practice environmental design features for the port.

Methods

Multidisciplinary approaches will be used to identify social and environmental values both qualitatively and quantitatively, and to equate these values as monetary-equivalent (non-market) values so that they can be compared directly with financial values in integrated economic assessments.

• Engage with stakeholders to understand concerns and opportunities associated with the development of the port.
• Develop an online survey to evaluate the public’s perspective and the non-market economic value of environmental assets in Cockburn Sound.
• Survey recreational fishers to understand values of different recreational fishing activities and perception of the port development.
• Map spatial human patterns, values and areas of potential conflict for non-fishing recreational activities. The public survey has now closed.
• Develop an economic framework to analyse both the market (financial) and non-market (social and environmental) benefits and costs of different environmental design options.