Targeting conservation payments to achieve multiple outcomes Original Research Article

This paper describes an environmental conservation planning model used in Queensland, Australia to purchase agreements on 66 sites covering 81,046 ha at a cost of A$1.9 million. The model was used as part of a competitive tendering program called “NatureAssist”. The model maximises conservation benefit subject to a cost constraint using binary combinatorial optimisation. Multiple criteria analysis (MCA) is used to capture investor preferences and measure benefit over multiple outcomes. Conservation costs are drawn from real market data; i.e. the prices being offered by sellers (landholders) to supply conservation services to a buyer (the government). This study shows the potential strengths, and weaknesses, of taking an MCA approach to select conservation sites in a real market context.