From Australian Oceans Data Network
JSON format icon JSON RDF format icon RDF ISO19115-3 XML

Parks Australia's Natural Values Ecosystems (NESP MaC 1.3)

Created 23/01/2026

Updated 23/01/2026

JSON format icon JSON RDF format icon RDF ISO19115-3 XML

The Parks Australia Management Effectiveness (ME) system - previously MERI - is underpinned by a controlled, common language that provides a nationally consistent lexicon for a) Natural, cultural, and heritage values; (b) Social, cultural, and economic benefits; (c) Activities and anthropogenic pressures; and (d) Biophysical, and social and economic drivers.

The Natural Values component of the common language is defined at three levels: 1) ecosystem complexes; 2) ecosystems; and 3) ecosystem components. This map shows the Ecosystems (tier 2) component of the Natural Values, and delineates features by habitat and depth for the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

This version (2022) of the National Values Ecosystems dataset uses Geoscience Australia's 250m resolution Australian Bathymetry and Topography Grid, 2009 (https://dx.doi.org/10.4225/25/53D99B6581B9A) as the basis for the map. See Hayes et al. 2021 and Dunstan et al. 2023 for a full definition of Natural Values Ecosystem terms, input datasets used, and processing steps involved with the creation of this map.

Note that this dataset uses a combination of input data sources and interpolates where data gaps exist. The common language adopts a functional, largely geo-physical perspective to define surrogates for marine ecosystems. This dataset is not a substitute for a validated habitat map (see Seamap Australia National Benthic Habitat Layer: https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/4739e4b0-4dba-4ec5-b658-02c09f27ab9a), but has a national coverage and provides valuable broad-scale categorisation of marine ecosystems in Australian waters.

Files and APIs

Tags

Additional Info

Field Value
Title Parks Australia's Natural Values Ecosystems (NESP MaC 1.3)
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/en/dataset/19d8c742-71f5-4519-b231-c096caa6c620
Contact Point
Australian Ocean Data Network
piers.dunstan@csiro.au
Reference Period 01/01/2016
Geospatial Coverage Australia
Data Portal Australian Oceans Data Network

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Australian Oceans Data Network "Parks Australia's Natural Values Ecosystems (NESP MaC 1.3)". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://catalogue.aodn.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/parks-australias-natural-values-ecosystems-nesp-mac-1-31