Queensland launches digital environment report

The Queensland Government has launched what it is calling the nation’s first online state of the environment (SoE) report.

Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection Dr Steven Miles and Science Minister Leeanne Enoch said the valuable resource offered “a more visual experience”.

“This is a new-generation tool that delivers the latest information about the state of the environment,” Dr Miles said.

“It takes people on a visual journey through the state’s environmental assets and provides a regional snapshot.

“Through videos and graphics, the website provides a comprehensive picture of the extent and condition of Queensland’s environment and pressures facing our environmental assets.

The SoE site has more than 1200 tables, graphs and charts and images, calling on more than 100 datasets, 119 indicators and 119 key findings.

Enoch said the state of the environment report was based primarily on the core work of scientists from the Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation.

“Our scientists used satellite imagery, in-field environmental probes and samplers, combined with laboratory and field work, to collect the data used in the report,” Enoch said.

“Synthesis of these data by simulation modelling and geographic information systems allows us to better understand our natural environment, ultimately providing Queenslanders with the most comprehensive and scientifically reliable picture possible on the state of our environment.

“All this data is available for free to the general public 24/7 as part of the Palaszczuk government’s commitment to open data,” she said.

Dr Miles said it was a legislative requirement to produce the state of the environment report every four years to monitor the extent and condition of Queensland’s environmental assets.

“State of the environment reporting occurs at both the national and state level, and Queensland is the first to deliver an interactive online one-stop-shop resource,” Dr Miles said.

“It is the internationally accepted method for assessing environmental performance.

“The latest report now online provides quick access to information about the state’s biodiversity, heritage, pollution and climate, focusing on 2012 to 2015, from a phone, tablet or computer.

Image courtesy NASA.