About us
EMSA is
EMSA, the Ecological Monitoring System Australia, is a set of nationally standardised survey modules and data systems aimed at improving the collection, management and storage of ecological field data. This includes:
- A manual detailing comprehensive instructions for a range of ecological field survey modules
- A field data collection App called ‘Monitor’
- A centralised data management and storage system - the Australian Government’s Biodiversity Data Repository
- EMSA has been developed by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) in partnership with the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN).
EMSA will
- Establish best practice monitoring protocols that support a range of project needs and outcomes
- Improve understanding and measurement of the effectiveness of NRM actions
- Strengthen the evidence used to assess the achievement of outcomes
- Facilitate better access to and re-use of ecological survey data for adaptive management, research and policy
- Over time, be used to create long-term species and ecosystem trend data for adaptive management, research and policy.
Why EMSA?
Prior to EMSA, Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) funded monitoring data was collected by Natural Resource Management (NRM) groups using a variety of methods and held in different formats in databases all over the country.
This limited combining and comparing data across projects, making it difficult to assess the effectiveness of NRM programs.
EMSA creates nationally consistent evidence for assessing project and program outcomes.
