A new CSIRO report warns that social measures are key to guiding transformative carbon and biodiversity investments in Australia.
Land restoration investments are expanding across Australia through a growing number of finance mechanisms. With governments and corporations increasingly engaged in net-zero and nature-positive targets, unprecedented funds and incentives are being directed into restoration projects to cut land-based emissions and reverse biodiversity losses. While these finance incentives promise environmental outcomes, their socio-economic considerations and impacts are often poorly understood, assessed, or disclosed. Land restoration investments typically rely on ecological information and financial analyses to meet environmental commitments, while their social consequences remain unclear.
The newly released CSIRO report, Pathways for Advancing Social Measures in Land Stewardship Decisions, warns that the dominance of ecological and financial frameworks in restoration planning and evaluation risks drowning out socio-economic considerations across Australia. Without attention to social factors, the local impacts of carbon, biodiversity, or sustainability finance projects are obscured, raising questions about who truly benefits from these initiatives.
CSIRO’s report showcases the integration of multiple values into the formulation of social measures for restoration investments. Illustration: Felix Saw
CSIRO’s report showcases the integration of multiple values into the formulation of social measures for restoration investments. Illustration: Felix Saw
Led by Dr Danilo Urzedo, the report forms part of CSIRO’s Valuing Local Provenance Project, developed in collaboration with Queensland’s Land Restoration Fund and community organisations in northeast Australia.
“There’s an assumption that using data for restoration investment decisions and evaluations is purely neutral and objective,” says Dr Urzedo. “Existing restoration measures often focus on ecological and financial performance, neglecting how these investments affect socio-cultural priorities and benefits. As a result, evaluations reflect broader political-economic interests rather than the place-based outcomes that matter to local communities.”
The report reveals that the solution is not simply to collect more data or design increasingly complex assessments. Instead, it calls for social measures that support negotiation and dialogue around community aspirations, Indigenous voices, and local values. The authors highlight the importance of combining diverse methods and data types to shape and apply social data ethically and culturally, balancing institutional requirements with local priorities and interests.
CSIRO’s report unpacks a set of analytical considerations in the design and use of social measures for restoration investments. Illustration: Felix Saw
CSIRO’s report unpacks a set of analytical considerations in the design and use of social measures for restoration investments. Illustration: Felix Saw
Now as a Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, Dr Urzedo is linking this experience with the Socioeconomics research stream of the ARC Training Centre for Healing Country.
“Our collaborative research in the ARC Centre for Healing Country is building partnerships to advance the co-creation of reporting tools and strategies that elevate Indigenous values and benefits at the centre of restoration economies” he says.
To read the full report, visit the CSIRO website.
Publication details:
Urzedo, Danilo; Dumbrell, Nikki; Robinson, Cathy; Ricketts, Katie; Walker, Lisa; Bennett, Drew. Pathways for advancing social measures in land stewardship decisions. Environment: CSIRO; 2025. EP2025-5183.
