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New aerial technology tackles the impacts of climate change

Jan 2023
Nearmap and The Nature Conservancy Australia announce innovative partnership to apply location intelligence technology to manage conservation projects.
Jan 2023
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Nearmap and The Nature Conservancy Australia announce innovative partnership to apply location intelligence technology to monitor and manage conservation projects
Sydney, Australia: July 18, 2022 – Cutting-edge Australian technology is for the first time being integrated with traditional land management techniques of First Nations people s to help local communities respond to the impacts of climate change.
Australian location intelligence and aerial imagery company Nearmap is partnering with not-for-profit organisation The Nature Conservancy Australia (TNC) to provide the latest technology to help monitor and inform conservation management in nationally significant ecosystems, including remote areas of the country.
Under the new partnership, Nearmap will provide The Nature Conservancy Australia and its partners with accurate and regularly updated location data and aerial imagery to inform the management of properties for conservation purposes by their Traditional Custodians. The partnership will initially focus on savanna burning programs at Fish River Station, NT, and wetland restoration at Gayini, NSW. The technology will also be used to monitor the progress of conservation initiatives at these sites and provide communities with powerful information and tools to respond to climate change.
The partnership includes Nearmap conducting bespoke aerial captures of these specific properties supported by The Nature Conservancy Australia and which Nearmap does not currently capture. The partnership with The Nature Conservancy Australia is the inaugural community program for the Nearmap sustainability program, Nearmap for Good. It follows Nearmap committing to the 1% Pledge, where the firm will access a portion of its future success to support not-for-profit organisations through employee volunteering, and by offering its location intelligence technology.
Dr Rob Newman, Managing Director, and CEO at Nearmap said: “Customers and communities trust Nearmap to be a source of truth that helps them to better understand, and respond to, a changing world. We’re deeply committed to improving environmental and social outcomes by harnessing the power of our global workforce, expertise, and technology. With innovative solutions and strong partnerships, Nearmap is working with organisations including The Nature Conservancy Australia to help make our cities and landscapes more resilient and sustainable.”
“One of the remarkable aspects of our partnership with The Nature Conservancy Australia is the powerful synthesis of innovative technology and traditional land management techniques by Traditional Custodians to support local conservation projects. Nearmap will provide an important eye in the sky that is particularly helpful to monitor remote and regional areas that may be difficult to access.”
Dr James Fitzsimons, Director of Conservation and Science at The Nature Conservancy Australia said: “The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organisation dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. To address the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, we focus on innovative, science-based solutions that match the urgency of the crises. Our partnership with Nearmap will apply innovative, cutting-edge technology to help The Nature Conservancy and its partners monitor and inform conservation management at Fish River Station and Gayini. This will strengthen the resilience to climate change of these culturally and ecologically significant landscapes and ecosystems.”
Fish River Station (Daly River; NT): Reducing destructive late season wildfires and reducing carbon emissions
  • Fish River Station is a vast, 180,000 - hectare property in the Northern Territory with exceptionally diverse habitats including savanna woodlands, rainforests, and floodplains.
  • Situated alongside the Daly River, the land and waterways provide sanctuary for many unique animals including 21 threatened species such as the Northern Quoll, Gouldian Finch and Northern Masked Owl.
  • The Nature Conservancy Australia wanted to ensure this important land would be managed for conservation forever and has worked with the Indigenous Land and Sea Corpor ation (ILSC), the Australian Government’s National Reserve System Program and Pew Charitable Trusts, to help ILSC purchase the land.
  • Since then, TNC has been working with the ILSC to successfully conserve this Country.
Gayini (Murrumbidgee River; NSW): Managing Country for biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, and Indigenous heritage
  • Gayini is a remote and vast property of almost 88,000 hectares in the Murray - Darling Basin, owned and managed by its Traditional Custodians – the Nari Nari Tribal Council – for the conservation of its nationally significant wetlands and wildlife populations, the development of sustainable agriculture and the protection of significant cultural heritage and to support the cultural and social aspi rations of the Nari Nari community through their care for Country.
  • In May 2018, a consortium led by The Nature Conservancy took over management of Gayini. The other members of the consortium were the Nari Nari Tribal Council, the Murray Darling Wetlands W orking Group, and the Centre for Ecosystem Science at the University of NSW.In late 2019, The Nature Conservancy facilitated the legal transfer of ownership of Gayini to the Nari Nari Tribal Council thanks to funding from the Indigenous Land and Sea Corpor ation and the Wyss Campaign for Nature.
  • Once more in possession of their land, Nari Nari people are caring for Country using a combination of traditional and modern techniques to improve its productivity and enhance its values. The Nari Nari have assessed and maintained roads and infrastructure, protected culture and heritage sites, regenerating the native vegetation and managing the landscape for the return of wildlife and vegetation. This includes reinstating a more natural flooding regime across the property in what is one of the largest wetland restoration projects in the country.
  • The return of water to the landscape has seen large scale breeding events for colonial nesting waterbirds such as pelicans, ibis and spoonbills (in the tens of thousands) and enhanced habitat for the endangered Australasian Bittern.
Organisations in Australia, New Zealand, and North America access Nearmap data and location intelligence to plan smart cities of the future, support the growth of greener spaces, and assist recovery efforts after major natural disasters.
Nearmap announced in 2021 it will aim to capture aerial imagery and location data following every major natural disaster in Australia and the U.S. that has a significant impact on property, infrastructure, and communities. Nearmap aims to be one of the first organisations to fly and capture aerial imagery of communities affected by natural disasters, providing access to this powerful city-wide data within days of each event – with speed, accuracy, and consistent quality – to better support response and recovery efforts.
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