Insights from Australia's unique and diverse ecosystems will be used to boost global conservation efforts thanks to a game-changing online atlas developed under the guidance of James Cook University researchers and a global partnership of scientists, non-government organisations and stakeholders.
Officially launched today at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, the Group on Earth Observations Global Ecosystems Atlas offers the world's first data platform that is dedicated to mapping and monitoring all of the world's ecosystems.
Director of JCU's Global Ecology Lab and Global Science Lead of the project Dr Nicholas Murray said the atlas gives policymakers, financial institutions, private companies and local communities a critical tool to help inform environmental management decisions, conduct research, and aid in environmental and corporate reporting.
"We developed the Global Ecosystems Atlas to act as a foundational data resource to help underpin our knowledge of the world's ecosystems, where they are on Earth and how we can protect and manage them," Dr Murray said.
"This atlas has enabled locally developed datasets to have a larger prominence on the global stage, so that deep-rooted knowledge about the world's unique ecosystems is able to support global environmental conservation initiatives, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity's Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework."
The atlas has so far included data on nearly 60 per cent of the world's ecosystems, with Dr Murray and his team set to embark on a two-year initiative to expand the atlas to offer complete coverage of the world's remaining ecosystems.
"There's a lot more work to do, but the launch this week represents a significant step towards globally coordinated ecosystem management and conservation," he said.
By including data that was developed using the latest Earth observation technology, artificial intelligence, field data, and local expertise, the atlas is a rich, locally relevant resource for the world's ecosystems, including the distribution of ecosystems that occur in a given country and how they relate to protected areas.
With a focus on all of the world's ecosystem, the atlas also shines a light on the distribution of lesser-known ecosystems, such as desert and ocean floor ecosystems.
Data included in the atlas includes Queensland's World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef and the state's remnant vegetation groups.
The atlas team is encouraging countries to make their own data submissions to help build a more accurate picture of the state of various ecosystems around the world.
"This project has a strong capacity-building stream, which is designed to support countries and other stakeholders to develop new ecosystem maps in places where we don't currently have data," Dr Murray said.
Dr Murray said the atlas would also help to monitor the Global Biodiversity Framework's "30 by 30" target to protect at least 30 per cent of terrestrial land, marine and coastal areas by 2030.
"One main issue is that the data needed to understand if we are on the trajectory required to meet global targets for ecosystems is disparate, fragmented, and, in many cases, difficult to access," he said.
"This initiative is squarely aimed at offering the data necessary to better understand the world's ecosystems."
JCU's Global Ecosystems Atlas team comprises of Dr Murray, Naema Gros-Dubois, Dr Ben Cresswell, Simi Komenda and Charlotte Hyndman, and is supported by a large consortium of global partners.
To view the Global Ecosystems Atlas, head to www.globalecosystemsatlas.org
