ABSTRACT
The need to monitor greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accurately has become a task of major importance over the last decade. Emissions and removals of GHG in the land sector represent a large proportion of Australia’s total GHG emissions. Under the Kyoto protocol, Australia was required to estimate emissions from land use and land use change in 1990 and from 2008 to 2012 while ensuring time-series consistency, limiting potential errors of omission and commission, allowing for annual updating at fine spatial resolution, and focusing on areas of change rather than total extent. The NCAS Land Cover Change Program (NCAS-LCCP) was developed by the Australian government in collaboration with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and other partners to meet the exacting requirements of the Kyoto Protocol. A variety of other mapping products exist in Australia that were developed for a number of purposes, including biodiversity, conservation, and watershed management.
