We’ve taken a critical step to measure the value of the social, cultural and economic or ‘human’ components of the NSW marine estate

The release of the NSW Marine Estate Community Wellbeing Framework (the Framework) provides a new way to measure the social, cultural and economic, or ‘human’ components of the marine estate and helps us understand how the marine estate contributes to community wellbeing.

Why is this important?

A healthy marine estate is key to the wellbeing of the community.

85% of NSW residents live within 50 kilometres of coast, but we haven’t had the framework or data to measure the range and extent of benefits to community.

We often monitor the environmental components such as water quality, habitats, and marine life, but not the human elements.

This Framework is the first step towards filling this gap.

It provides the basis for a consistent and robust approach to monitoring the community benefits related to the NSW coast and threats to these benefits.

It allows us to expand beyond the traditional focus on environmental aspects of the marine estate.

Applying the Framework will allow for better integration of social, cultural and economic aspects, with environmental knowledge, and facilitate management decisions that deliver the best possible outcomes for the health of our coast and the community.

Data collected through the application of this Framework is also crucial in informing the Marine Integrated Monitoring Program (MIMP), which guides monitoring and assessment of the Marine Estate Management Strategy.

What is community wellbeing?

Community wellbeing is the total of economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits derived from the NSW marine estate.

It’s difficult to measure because there are so many parts. In addition to the tangible values, such as food, physical environment, and work, it also includes the concepts of quality of life and life satisfaction, as well as physical, mental and emotional health.

Read more about the NSW Marine Estate Community Wellbeing Framework.

The NSW Marine Estate Community Wellbeing Framework has been developed by DPI Fisheries and is funded via Initiative 8 of the NSW Marine Estate Management Strategy.