The challenge
Reversing Australia’s environmental decline
Private sector investment can make a significant contribution to nature repair. Businesses, organisations, governments, and individuals are increasingly looking for ways to demonstrate their environmental credentials and achieve positive outcomes for nature.
The Nature Repair Market is a national, legislated biodiversity market. It is designed to deliver high-integrity biodiversity outcomes and increase investment in nature.
Collecting, sharing and maintaining reliable and trusted environmental information is essential for the integrity and success of the market.
Our response
A new information system for the Nature Repair Market
CSIRO in partnership with the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has created the Ecological Knowledge System (EKS) to be a robust and transparent source of information about biodiversity and management options for the Nature Repair Market.
The EKS helps market participants access the ecological information needed to plan and assess nature repair projects that deliver genuine biodiversity benefits. It also helps participants compare the potential biodiversity benefits of different projects using a nationally consistent approach.
The main components of the EKS include:
- Ecosystem models: State-and-transition models synthesise knowledge from a diverse range of sources – including regional experts – on the dynamics, management and restoration of ecosystems. Learn more about ecosystem models here: Ecosystem models for the Ecological Knowledge System
- The National Biodiversity Assessment System (NBAS): NBAS uses information from the ecosystem models, combined with on-ground project data and national datasets, to provide a nationally consistent approach to assessing biodiversity and forecasting the biodiversity benefits of projects.
- First Nations knowledge and values: CSIRO and DCCEEW are continuing to work together with Indigenous experts to explore how Indigenous knowledge and values could appropriately interact with the EKS.
The results
The Ecological Knowledge System
The EKS helps market participants design projects and assess potential biodiversity benefits. It can help investors compare the benefits of different projects.
The EKS provides market participants with information about:
- the current biodiversity status of a proposed project area
- the management actions needed to maintain and improve biodiversity
- the biodiversity benefits that may be achieved by implementing management actions.
The EKS can be accessed using the links below and via the web-based Platform for Land and Nature Repair (PLANR).
Next steps for the EKS
In partnership with DCCEEW we will continue to improve the EKS in response to feedback, to incorporate scientific advancements and improved data, and to increase its coverage across Australia. For example, work is underway to test methods for incorporating information about likely futures under climate change.
Download the factsheet
- An Ecological Knowledge System to support nature repair in Australia PDF (473 KB)
- An Ecological Knowledge System to support nature repair in Australia TXT (6 KB) - accessible text only version