Value of SA’s parks

Eco­nom­ic, recre­ation­al and well­be­ing ben­e­fits of our nation­al parks

South Australia’s nation­al parks and reserves are cen­tral to the lives of our com­mu­ni­ties, and the expe­ri­ence of our vis­i­tors. These unique places are not only spec­tac­u­lar des­ti­na­tions; they are essen­tial for con­serv­ing our state’s bio­di­ver­si­ty, sup­port­ing region­al economies, and they help to make South Aus­tralia great.

Study 2: Recre­ation­al and Well­be­ing Ben­e­fits of Met­ro­pol­i­tan Parks

To bet­ter under­stand the health and well­be­ing ben­e­fits of met­ro­pol­i­tan parks and reserves, the Depart­ment for Envi­ron­ment and Water com­mis­sioned the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ade­laide to con­duct the Recre­ation­al and Well­be­ing Ben­e­fits of Met­ro­pol­i­tan Parks study. Build­ing on ear­li­er research into the eco­nom­ic val­ue of SA’s parks, this study offers valu­able insights into the broad­er ben­e­fits of our parks.

Key find­ings

• On aver­age, reg­u­lar park vis­i­tors are 4% health­i­er than non-visitors.
• The bet­ter health of reg­u­lar vis­i­tors to metro parks equates to $140 mil­lion a year in poten­tial avoid­ed health expen­di­ture on chron­ic dis­eases in South Australia.
• Most res­i­dents can access an Ade­laide met­ro­pol­i­tan park with­in 30 min­utes of their home (approx­i­mate­ly 13 km).
• Peo­ple in low­er socio-eco­nom­ic areas vis­it parks less fre­quent­ly because they have fur­ther to trav­el. Cre­at­ing parks clos­er to these com­mu­ni­ties would poten­tial­ly lead to improved health outcomes.

Reports and sup­port­ing documents

• Sum­ma­ry report: Recre­ation­al and Well­be­ing Ben­e­fits of Met­ro­pol­i­tan Parks — Sum­ma­ry report
• Tech­ni­cal report: Recre­ation­al and Well­be­ing Ben­e­fits of Met­ro­pol­i­tan Parks — Tech­ni­cal report (Uni­ver­si­ty of Adelaide)

The study was con­duct­ed in part­ner­ship with the Uni­ver­si­ty of Ade­laide and com­mis­sioned by the Depart­ment for Envi­ron­ment and Water. It was led by Adam Loch, John Maclean, and Patrick O’Connor from UoA. The study was inde­pen­dent­ly reviewed by Dr David Adam­son (UoA) and Thi­lak Mallawaarachchi (Hon. A/​Prof. Uni­ver­si­ty of Queens­land). This study builds upon a Depart­ment for Envi­ron­ment and Water study of mobil­i­ty data.

Study 1: Eco­nom­ic Val­ue of Nature-Based Tourism in Region­al Parks

South Aus­tralia com­plet­ed a study that quan­ti­fies the eco­nom­ic val­ue of our nation­al parks and reserves, focus­ing on nature-based tourism in region­al parks. This inno­v­a­tive research uses real vis­i­tor data and con­tem­po­rary eco­nom­ic analy­ses to deter­mine how these parks con­tribute to South Australia’s econ­o­my. This work offers valu­able insights that will enable us to track this eco­nom­ic con­tri­bu­tion in future years.

Key find­ings

• Eco­nom­ic Val­ue of SA’s Parks – Sum­ma­ry Report: Read the find­ings here

Sup­port­ing tech­ni­cal information

• Tech­ni­cal report 1: Eco­nom­ic Val­ue of SA’s Parks – Tech­ni­cal Report 1 (Pri­ma­ry Eco­nom­ic Val­ue)
• Tech­ni­cal report 2: Eco­nom­ic Val­ue of SA’s Parks – Tech­ni­cal Report 2 (Sec­ondary Eco­nom­ic Val­ue)
• Tech­ni­cal report 3: Eco­nom­ic Val­ue of SA’s Parks – Tech­ni­cal Report 3 (Kan­ga­roo Island Wilder­ness Trail Case Study)

This study was a col­lab­o­ra­tion between the Depart­ment for Envi­ron­ment and Water and the Uni­ver­si­ty of Adelaide’s Cen­tre for Glob­al Food and Resources, School of Eco­nom­ics and Pub­lic Pol­i­cy. It was peer reviewed by Thi­lak Mallawaarachchi, Hon­orary Asso­ciate Pro­fes­sor, Uni­ver­si­ty of Queensland.

Fur­ther stud­ies

These stud­ies pro­vides both an indica­tive and con­ser­v­a­tive esti­mate of the eco­nom­ic, recre­ation­al and well­be­ing ben­e­fits of South Australia’s parks – but we know this is only part of the story. 

Future stud­ies will con­tin­ue to inves­ti­gate the val­ue of parks to sup­port social, envi­ron­men­tal and eco­nom­ic pros­per­i­ty for South Australians.