WA's native vegetation is internationally renowned. It supports our state’s unique biodiversity and provides a range of benefits to Western Australians, including cooling our communities, absorbing carbon and maintaining water quality.
The State Government is delivering a statewide WA Vegetation Extent (WAVE) mapping system pilot, under the Native vegetation policy for Western Australia, to track losses and gains in this critical state asset.
The past decade has seen significant advances in artificial intelligence-based ecosystem mapping. The WAVE pilot, which began in 2023, is testing how artificial intelligence-based vegetation mapping technologies perform in the WA setting.
We are developing this technology so it can be effectively applied across our large and diverse state. This includes refining the automated vegetation maps to ensure they are reliable to inform decision-making.
As well as tracking losses and gains in native vegetation over time, WAVE intends to inform regulatory decisions, as well as policymaking on cumulative environmental impacts. Other critical State Government functions including land use planning and fire mitigation planning would also use WAVE.
This webpage will be updated with further information as the pilot progresses.
