The natural environment is essential to our wellbeing. Our landscapes, oceans, water, atmosphere and biodiversity play an important role in the economy and are fundamental to our Australian identity and way of life.
To manage our natural environment responsibly, governments, industry and the community need comprehensive, trusted and timely environmental information. Good information is essential to make sound decisions, individually and collectively, about environmental change and the issues affecting our environment.
The Bureau of Meteorology is monitoring our atmosphere; observing our environment, developing products, services and information systems, and leading cross-agency coordination activities; to improve Australia's environmental information base.
Major activities include eReefs, a collaboration that forms the first step in building a coastal information system for Australia; the National Environmental Information Infrastructure, a whole-of-government initiative to improve discovery, access and re-use of environmental information; and leading a programme of bioregional assessments to analyse potential impacts of coal seam gas and large coal mining developments on water resources.
