WABSI was instrumental this year in helping to establish the Index of Biodiversity Surveys for Assessment (IBSA) that will capture $38m worth of environmental data each year in Western Australia.
A Resources 2030 Taskforce report, released in September 2018, highlights WABSI’s role in making environmental data more accessible and enable its value and use to be maximised.
Environmental impact assessments (EIAs), a key component of Australia’s environmental assessment and approval processes require extensive collection of environmental and biodiversity data and only Western Australia requires this data to be submitted and stored after a project’s assessment.
It calls for this requirement to be expanded to all states, territories and relevant regulatory bodies. It states, “How this data is stored, managed and made available will be fundamental to unlocking its potential contributions to the sector and wider economy.”
WABSI played a critical role in establishing IBSA and is a great example of how such initiatives can bring industry and government together and contribute to improved certainty, decision-making and better environmental outcomes.
The Resources 2030 Taskforce examined and made recommendations on how Australia’s resources sector can remain globally competitive and sustainable over decades to come. It outlined 29 recommendations including how the sector can improve its environmental performance.