Regional Environmental Account

Natural capital

After our community, the natural capital of the Burnett Mary region is arguably our most valuable asset. It underpins a thriving agricultural sector within the region, which is well-known for its prime agricultural land, well-managed water resources and innovative farming and fishing practices.

Climate change is forcing the world economy to decarbonise, and governments, private enterprise and investors are looking to direct billions of dollars of capital into the ecosystems that sustain us. To facilitate that investment in natural assets, we must first place a value on them, but we can’t value assets until we know what they are, where they are and, how much there is.

The environment measured

Throughout 2022, BMRG developed the Burnett Mary Region Environmental Account to answer these questions. The Account utilises the Accounting for Nature framework and measures an area larger than the Netherlands (5.6 million hectares). It is a stocktake of the health of the region’s natural assets, such as vegetation cover, plants and animals.