Reef report sends economic warning

SYDNEY - Australia's under-pressure Great Barrier Reef is an asset worth A$56 billion ($42 billion) and as an ecosystem and economic driver is "too big to fail", a study said on Monday.

The World Heritage-listed reef is the largest living structure on Earth and its economic and social value was calculated for the first time in the Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

The report said the reef - bigger than the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the Netherlands combined - was worth A$29 billion to tourism, supporting 64,000 jobs.

The "indirect or nonuse" value - people that have not yet visited the reef but know it exists - was estimated at A$24 billion, with recreational users such as boaters making up the rest.

The study, based on six months' analysis, comes as the reef suffers an unprecedented second straight year of coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change.

It is also under pressure from farming runoff, development and the crown-of-thorns starfish, with the problems compounded this year by a powerful cyclone pummeling the area.

Great Barrier Reef Foundation director Steve Sargent said the study showed that no single Australian asset contributed as much to international perceptions of "Brand Australia".

"At $56 billion, the reef is valued at more than 12 Sydney Opera Houses," he said.

"This report sends a clear message that the Great Barrier Reef - as an ecosystem, as an economic driver, as a global treasure - is too big to fail."

Commenting in the report, US presidential candidate turned conservationist Al Gore said the study was a "much needed, holistic view of the incredible economic value and opportunities provided by the Great Barrier Reef".

"Any failure to protect this indispensable natural resource would have profound impacts not only to Australia but around the world," he added.

The study included a survey of 1,500 respondents from 10 countries that found people value the reef for a range of reasons - due to its importance for tourism but also the belief that Australia would not be the same without it.

Lead author, Deloitte Access's John O'Mahony, said it was clear the reef was "priceless and irreplaceable".

"But we've been able to look at it as an 'asset' that has incredible value on multiple fronts - from its biodiversity and job creating potential to its support for critical industries and standing among international visitors to Australia," he said.

Australia last month hosted a summit of more than 70 of the world's leading marine experts to work on a blueprint on how best to respond to the threats facing the reef.

Options explored included developing coral nurseries, expanding monitoring systems and identifying priority sites for coral restoration.

Agence France-presse