Economic assessment of Crown-of Thorns Starfish control on the Great Barrier Reef (2019 - 2040)

The collection contains data generated within the project "Platform for identifying gains in effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and efficiency of manual Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (CoTS) control" as part of the CoTS Control Innovation Program (CCIP). The data (.png, .csv., .html) contains the results of (1) cost-effectiveness analysis, (2) productive efficiency analysis, and (3) allocative efficiency analysis of eighteen alternative CoTS control strategies simulated to be deployed on the GBR from 2019 to 2040. A modelling and analysis pipeline was used to assess the costs and benefits of eighteen scenarios for deployment of CoTS control effort across the GBR. Ecological metrics from the collaborative CCIP project “Design and optimisation of regional models and decision support scenarios for COTS control and ecosystem resilience” were used as inputs into the economic assessment: (1) the number of COTS culled, (2) the amount of coral area saved, (3) the number of reefs where outbreaks were prevented, and (4) the amount of healthy coral habitat maintained. All benefits and costs were estimated in terms AUD Dollars (2022) discounted at discount rates at 0%, 3%, 7% and 10%.