Download ECNES data
About the database
The Ecological Communities of National Environmental Significance (ECNES) Database contains spatial information that includes data on the distribution of ecological communities related to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
In line with the Government’s policy of open data access, the Department has developed a generalised version of the database that allows the public to access information relating to the distribution of nationally-listed threatened ecological communities.
Generalised data
The generalised version of the ECNES has been derived from maps developed by the spatial ecologists in the Department. These maps have been created using ecological data, research information, observation records, vegetation mapping and modelling software with national-scale environmental data.
This product has been generalised to a 100m (1km in WA) resolution to allow the public access to departmental information at a useful spatial scale while preserving sensitivities around the data.
The maps are predictive models of the occurrence of a given ecological community and should be considered as indicative rather than a definitive assessment of presence or absence. They represent a starting point for further investigation rather than the outcome of a comprehensive scientific assessment.
GIS data
The generalised ECNES data product consists of GIS data in a vector format within a file geodatabase or shapefile.
Occurrence information has been coded as “Community likely to occur” or “Community may occur”.
A link to the SPRAT profile of each ecological community is also included in the data.
For further information, or to provide feedback, email: sprat@environment.gov.au