WEN-AARES Mini-Symposium

We would like to invite you to a mini-symposium that is organised as a collaboration between WEN QLD and the Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES).

It will showcase a fine selection of research presented at the AARES 2025 conference.

The symposium will be held face-to-face and can also be accessed via Teams: Join the meeting now

After the talks, we will head over to the  Saint Lucy Caffe et Cucina to (re)connect over some drinks and free pizza.

Event program, Thu 29 May 2025: 

Information on the speakers and talks:

Andrea La Nauze (A/Prof, Deakin University, Melbourne): “Can Electric Vehicles Aid the Renewable Transition? Evidence From A Field Experiment Incentivising Midday Charging”

In a field experiment tracking 390 electric vehicles minute-by-minute, we show that incentives reduce charging by 17%–-27% during peak times and increase it by 34% during midday when solar generation is highest. Peak charging decreases at home, while midday charging rises out of the home. Participants shift and reduce charging, drive less, and run batteries lower. We find heterogeneity based on rooftop solar ownership, commuting, and having a fast home charger. These findings suggest electric vehicles can support the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy and highlight the enabling role of charging infrastructure.

Bethany Cooper (A/Prof, University of South Australia): “Tasting the difference: Using Anchored Best Worst Scaling in Non-Hypothetical taste tests to understand (un)acceptability of drinking water quality and inform investment choices”

In order to conserve ecological and economic values attached to coral reefs in Pacific islands, restrictions on activities such as snorkelling, diving and swimming have been proposed. These restrictions, if implemented, would have impacts on tourists in the short term (through constraining their activities) and the long term (through conserving coral reefs for future tourism). Understanding how tourists view these short- and long-term impacts may be helpful in formulating policies that appropriately balance these impacts. However, there has been limited research on these issues in the Pacific. This study explores Australian and Chinese tourists’ preferences for restrictions on marine-based activities in Fiji. The preferences of Australian and Chinese tourists are particularly relevant because Australia has a strong tradition of outdoor and nature-based activities and is a large contributor to Pacific tourism, while China represents one of the fastest-growing sources of international tourists with increasing interest in marine and coastal destinations. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) approach is used to quantify how much Australian and Chinese tourists would be impacted by different restrictions on the characteristics of a marine tourism trip (snorkelling). The behaviours considered include restricting the use or type of sunscreen, use of underwater cameras with/without a flash, the distance to which marine animals can be approached and the numbers of boats/tourists in an area. Overall, we find significant heterogeneity in preferences; although, on average, people approve these restrictions, there are significant segments who do not. We identify that Australian and Chinese tourists have different preferences for behavioural restrictions. For example, Australian tourists are less favourable about restrictions on sunscreen while Chinese tourists are more likely to oppose restrictions on the use of underwater cameras. Our results indicate that some restrictions that would improve the condition of the marine environment in Fiji are likely to be feasible. The broader applicability of the results to other Pacific islands needs further investigation.

Anthea Coggan (Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO): “What decision makers want: a reflection on how research into the human dimensions of the Great Barrier Reef currently informs management decision making, and how it could be improved”

In the summer of 2023/2024, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) suffered its fifth recorded mass bleaching event. With more summers with record breaking temperatures forecasted to come, it is time to rethink how people are considered within the socio-ecological system of the GBR and therefore how research about the human dimensions of the GBR is designed, conducted and applied. Following semi-structured interviews with key decision makers in GBR management at the Federal, State and regional/catchment levels of governance, we reflect on how research into the human dimensions of the Reef can be improved for greater impact. We present three key findings from these interviews. First, how the role and practice of embedded research can assist in research impact (and how to do this). Second, how the communication of human dimension research findings can be refined for better inclusion into decision making. Thirdly, that there is a need for better management of the growing body of human dimensions data for use by decision makers (and how this is happening). Whilst people remain a key pressure on the GBR, and the management of this a continued key priority of GBR decision makers, a changing Reef in the context of a changing climate is generating demand for embedded, futures-focussed human dimensions research with a view to sustainable transitions, which the research community needs to step up to deliver.

Gabriela Scheufele (Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO): “Economic assessment of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish control strategies on the Great Barrier Reef”

The paper presents the results of an economic assessment of alternative manual Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS) strategies to reduce the loss of hard coral on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). COTS outbreaks contribute significantly to the loss of hard coral on the GBR. Controlling COTS through manual culling takes significant resources but in return generates benefits in terms of reduced COTS populations, coral protected, and overall reef resilience. When, where, and how COTS are culled changes the extent and distribution of these ecological benefits. While detailed GBR-scale ecological modelling can tell us how effectively different control strategies reduce COTS and protect coral, they do not account for the inputs used, costs incurred, and benefits generated. However, such information is required to ensure that public investments in COTS control maximise benefits at a fixed budget. The economic assessment is based on ecological benefits estimated by a spatially explicit ecosystem model of the GBR under alternative COTS control strategies. The strategies examine the effect of spatial distribution of vessels, considering different regions, controlling protected versus fished reefs, treatment of effort sink reefs, and dynamic responses to COTS outbreak fronts. The assessment included 18 alternative strategies against four benefit metrics: (1) COTS Density Reduced: a metric counting the number of COTS culled per area, (2) Outbreaking Reefs Avoided: a metric related to suppressing or preventing outbreaks, (3) Coral Area Saved: a metric directly capturing the ability of a control strategy to protect coral, and (4) Economic Value of Benefit: a monetary metric capturing benefits enjoyed by the Australian population. Control costs were modelled based on data generated by the current GBR COTS Control Program. The assessment identified cost-effectiveness and allocative efficiency gains compared to a counterfactual with no control across the 18 alternative strategies. The results suggest that COTS control has generally a positive impact, irrespective of the metric used. However, identifying the optimal COTS control strategy depends on the management objectives and thus the respective benefit metric of interest. These results highlight the importance of establishing clear objectives for management when selecting strategies.