12/10/2026
How do you monitor the impacts of climate change across millions of hectares of World Heritage-listed, rugged landscape? ⛰️🌲
We’re pleased to announce our partnership and support of a new project that tackles exactly this challenge through our partnership with , Western Sydney University , UNSW , OQ Technology, NSW Space Research Network, and supported through the NSSN Smart Sensing Network Grant Challenge!
The project uses low-Earth-orbit satellites, for continuous environmental monitoring into remote forests - collecting real-time data on how individual trees, soil, and ecosystems respond to drought, bushfire and climate change.
What this means for the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area:
The vast topography of the GBMWHA - characterised by steep sandstone cliffs, deep valleys, and remote rainforests - makes manual ground monitoring logistically complex.
Satellite-enabled sensors bridge this gap.
What does this means for the GBMWHA and Conservation?
Whilst still stunning, and world heritage listed, this region is facing increasing threats from climate change.
Given the impacts and challenges, scalable, efficient and sustainable approaches to conservation need investment and development.
This technology equips land managers and researchers with early warning indicators of ecological stress and post-fire recovery dynamics.
Crucially, testing and refining these sensor networks across the Blue Mountains lays a foundation that can be scaled across Australia—from wet sclerophyll forests to far-western arid woodlands.
"Satellites offer a practical way to overcome the tyranny of distance... The benefits of near real-time monitoring will go well beyond science, giving land managers and conservation organisations an early warning if ecosystems are under new strain."
- Brendan Choat, Project Lead, Western Sydney University.
The Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute is excited to be a part of the evolving face of conservation across the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, with the aim of producing insights, and systems that can be scaled and deployed across many ecosystems in Australia.
📖 Read the full media release here:
https://bmwhi.org.au/bmhwi-websitefinal/posts/scaling-conservation-across-the-greater-blue-mountains-harnessing-smart-sensing-for-real-world-ecological-impact
