Ecological Knowledge System: National Biodiversity Assessment System (NBAS) local standalone version (version 1.0)

Full description

This collection links to a GitHub repository housing a local standalone version of the National Biodiversity Assessment System (NBAS) used in PLANR (https://planr.gov.au/). It enables users to run NBAS independently of the PLANR website.

The NBAS was developed as part of the Ecological Knowledge System (EKS). The EKS is a partnership between the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) to establish a transparent and authoritative source of information, biodiversity assessment and forecast capability for the Nature Repair Market.

The NBAS is a software and data package that provides a nationally consistent approach to assessing an area’s current contribution to biodiversity and forecasting the expected contribution to biodiversity following successful implementation of a given project within the Nature Repair Market.

The standalone NBAS (version 1.0) produces the following metrics:
•\tConnectivity scores
•\tConservation significance scores
•\tContribution to biodiversity persistence scores

The standalone version of NBAS is for advanced users to run assessments on a local computer, at scale, or as part of automated workflows. It assumes familiarity with command-line tools, Docker, and basic data handling. If you're only assessing a small number of locations, or prefer a guided interface, we recommend using PLANR.
The NBAS GitHub repository was developed and is maintained by Haizea Analytics Pty Ltd.
Released under a MIT License. Copyright (c) 2025 CSIRO, DCCEEW, ANU, Haizea Analytics.

Disclaimer
Results from this standalone desktop version of NBAS differ slightly from the NBAS service in PLANR due to slight differences in how areas are clipped from the full datasets.

Biodiversity benefit scores will be reviewed by the Clean Energy Regulator as part of the project registration process.

The NBAS code provides an estimate of biodiversity benefit only. We do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in or calculated by the NBAS code, and users should use this information for estimation and guidance purposes only.

The NBAS code should not be relied on to confirm eligibility for any particular project, program, scheme or entitlement, and users should undertake their own independent assessment and seek appropriate expert advice to confirm such eligibility.

Do not rely solely on the NBAS code to make decisions about your project, as there may be a number of other factors to take into account.

The NBAS will be updated as the market evolves, knowledge improves, and technology changes over time. As this happens, the scores that NBAS calculates may change.

Lineage: NBAS is based (in part) on research created under the Project “An Ecological Knowledge System for the Nature Repair Market" scheme, which was funded by DCCEEW.

The framework for the NBAS builds on major advances in the science and application of ‘whole-system approaches’ to biodiversity conservation assessment made over recent decades (e.g. Moilanen 2008, Ferrier and Wintle 2009, Ferrier and Drielsma 2010, Walker et al. 2012, Pollock et al. 2020) (see Related Links). These approaches focus on assessing the collective state of biodiversity across a whole system of interest (e.g. a landscape or ecosystem).

The NBAS framework combines analyses and modelling undertaken at two spatial levels as per the general approach described by Ferrier and Drielsma (2010):
•\tAt the local level of individual spatial units (i.e. polygons defining activity areas), the expected future condition of each unit is modelled as a function of the present (starting) condition of the unit and the impact that any proposed or implemented management actions are predicted to have on condition (target condition).
•\tAt the whole-system level, both the expected local change in condition, and the influence this will have on the connectivity of high-condition areas in the surrounding landscape, are factored into an analysis that estimates the contribution that actions within a given activity area are expected to make to the nationwide persistence of biodiversity within the broad ecosystem type to which that activity area pertains.

The NBAS uses derived datasets containing information on the ecosystem typologies to forecast the expected biodiversity benefits of nature repair projects. These datasets include (1) a raster dataset that delineates the location and boundaries of ecosystem types as defined in the NBAS (i.e. the intersections of National Vegetation Information System (NVIS) Major Vegetation Groups (MVGs) and Conservation Management Zones (CMZs)), (2) an ecosystem identification key that assigns an identifier to each ecosystem type represented in the raster, and (3) an NBAS ecosystem typology table reporting pre 1750 and extant ecosystem extent, excluding MVGs classified as unclassified ecosystems, bare ground, inland water, or predominantly non terrestrial ecosystems. These datasets can be accessed from the Ecological Knowledge System: National Biodiversity Assessment System (NBAS) Data DAP collection (see Related Links)

Further details on NBAS development and design are in sections 3 and 4.2 of the Ecological Knowledge System (EKS) for the Nature Repair Market: Technical Report (see Related Links).