Assessing the Private Costs of Soil Degradation

While there is widespread concern in the Australian community with the extent of soil degradation, there is a paucity of reliable information on the extent of the costs that this degradation is imposing on Australia. A simple conceptual model of the private costs of soil degradation is outlined. On the basis of this model conventional measures of private soil degradation costs, such as the value of lost soil or production, the cost of repair and the opportunity cost of soil, are shown to have properties which make them unreliable indicators of the true costs involved. Given the difficulties in obtaining data on which to base reliable cost estimates it is suggested that the refinement of measures of soil scarcity has the potential to improve the efficacy of public policy decisions in this important area.