Recreation in the Coorong

In the first week of January 2006 CSIRO deployed a small team to the Coorong, South Australia to survey people about their recreation habits. The research area extends from Goolwa Barrage to the 42 Mile Crossing, including the ocean beach and the North and South Lagoons.

The survey, by the Water for a Healthy Country, is one of a number to be undertaken in the first stage of a study into recreation along the Murray River. This research will specifically inform the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth project within the Flagship.

Project Leader, CSIRO Resource and Agricultural Economist, Dr Brenda Dyack: "We're doing this initial survey to understand the values people have for recreation. So we are gathering information about what matters to people, who they are, how much they spend and where they come from, because no-one really has this kind of detailed information."

The research will provide quantitative data on recreation values – and lead to the development of models of patterns of use and spending under different scenarios of water availability and management. These models will then be linked with biophysical and ecological models for the Coorong, to give water managers a state-of-the-art system-based understanding of their region.

"It is so much more straightforward to estimate the value of water to groups such as irrigators," she explains, "and farmers will tell you down to the cent the benefits that water brings to their farm, but there are so many other sectors and groups along the Murray, where they can't tell you... and they're not collected in a group that has a common voice so there's really no easy way to get at information about values.

The only way to estimate rigorously the value of recreation use is to use methodologies that are geared to do the job: a survey like this one, based on elements of the Travel Cost Method, Contingent Valuation and Contingent Behaviour.

Ultimately the responses will be used to generate estimates of the recreation values visitors attribute to the Coorong, one of the Significant Ecological Assets under the Murray - Darling Basin Commission's Living Murray initiative.

Preliminary results, from the 260 surveys retuned indicate that most (88%) respondents felt that keeping the Murray Mouth open is essential for environmental health and recreation opportunities. Approximately half of the visitors intend making repeat visits to the region in the next 2 years. The primary reasons for visiting the region are sightseeing, relaxing, fishing and simply to be near the water. While most respondents did not know if there had been changes in the environmental issues in the region approximately 20% were of the view that environmental problems had been increasing.

Further surveys will be conducted in the Coorong over the Easter holiday period.

"To understand the area and the typical visitation activity we have worked closely with the South Australia Department for Environment and Heritage National Park staff," says Dr Dyack. "Their help and support throughout has been integral to the project."

More information:
Dr Brenda Dyack, CSIRO Land and Water
02 6246 5621 brenda.dyack@csiro.au

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