Darcy Bradley

Feb 11, 2025 | nature.com | Reniel B. Cabral |Juan Pablo Mayorga |Tia Kordell |Alicia M. Caughman |Anna Schuhbauer |Octavio Aburto-Oropeza | +5 more

Marine and coastal tourism deliver economic benefits to coastal communities that far surpass those generated by fisheries, yet its potential contribution to global marine conservation remains underexamined. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) help restore biodiversity and enhance nearby fisheries, but their direct tourism benefits are not well understood. Here, we estimate the global demand for recreational scuba dive tourism, map the distribution and protection status of all marine dive sites globally, and develop a bioeconomic model to estimate the revenue gains from upgrading unprotected dive sites to fully protected MPAs. We estimate that 33.1 million scuba dives occur annually in marine environments worldwide, with 70% taking place within MPAs. However, only 15% of these MPA-affiliated dive sites are highly or fully protected. We show that designating all unprotected recreational dive sites, representing less than 1% of the global ocean, as highly or fully protected MPAs would improve fish biomass and biodiversity while generating an additional US$2 billion per year in direct tourism revenue (not including economic multipliers). Importantly, 62% of marine diving currently occurs in developing countries, underscoring the potential for dive tourism to support both marine conservation and local livelihoods in regions where such benefits are most needed.

May 27, 2024 | lexology.com | Claire Smith |Alice Brennan |Darcy Bradley

The Federal Government's new Environmentally Sustainable Procurement Policy (ESPP) promotes circular economy goals by imposing new sustainability standards on companies bidding for Federal Government contracts, particularly in relation to the use of recycled products. The Federal Government has launched Australia's first national Environmentally Sustainable Procurement Policy (ESPP) applying to procurements of construction services, textiles, ICT goods and furniture, fittings and equipment.