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Foundations for the future: a long-term plan for Australian ecosystem science was launched by the Chief Scientist of Australia Prof Ian Chubb AC last week in Canberra. The final document has arisen from the proposals developed through many ‘town hall workshops’ across the country, and these proposals also form the basis for its implementation. The Plan identifies six equal priority areas for action over the coming years:
  • Delivering maximum impact for Australia: enhancing relationships between scientists and end-users
  • Supporting long-term research
  • Enabling ecosystem surveillance
  • Making the most of data resources*
  • Inspiring a generation: empowering the public with knowledge and opportunities
  • Facilitating coordination, collaboration and leadership

*The PRIORITY Making the most of data resources is most relevant to the Atlas of Living Australia–

“Sustained infrastructure and capacity for consistent collection, publication and archiving of ecosystem science data sets and meta-data in standard, easily accessible formats in publicly accessible websites. Australia needs sustained infrastructure and capacity-building  to maintain and facilitate the publication of and access to ecosystem science data. We can get better value from our collective data resources by properly describing and storing data in ways that enable discovery, access and re-use. Significant gains have been made in recent years, but there is currently no coordinated national strategy for collecting, storing and accessing core ecosystem science data across terrestrial, aquatic and atmospheric domains. Moving Australian ecosystem science to a position of open access to both historical and current data can enable research communities to build time series at a scale well beyond that which they could achieve individually. Synthesis, analysis and modelling of collective data will help to deliver essential outputs for government, industry and society.”

You can listen to Prof Chubb talking about it on Radio National at: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/national-plan-to-protect-ecosystems-launched/5599308