Changing environmental conditions in Tasmania have resulted in several alterations to the natural environment. According to reports by Climate Futures for Tasmania, most of the state is projected to experience accelerating environmental and atmospheric changes in the near future. This includes increasing intensity and variation in rainfall and temperature, sea-level rise, and increases in forest fire indices. Similar phenomena are occurring all around the globe and adaptation, at the individual, regional and national level is increasingly seen as necessary to help maintain and improve our quality of life.  

Throughout our lives we develop special connections to the places around us and the places we visit; they become a significant part of our individual and community identity and we are often dependent on them for our health, mental and social well-being, and for our work and livelihoods. Unfortunately, these places are increasingly threatened by prevailing environmental issues. Particularly at risk of loss and change, are natural places such as eucalyptus forests, coastal beaches, and marine habitats. We need the help of local communities and individuals to ensure that the places we love are protected and sustainably managed and that effective adaptation strategies are in place to help reduce negative impacts on us and on the natural environment around us.

Through an online public participatory mapping platform, this project seeks to map special places, understand their significance, and what it would mean to lose these places to increasing environmental issues. Your knowledge and perspectives can help inform effective natural resource management and the development of strategies for adaptation, and conservation of Tasmania’s beautiful and invaluable natural places.

Tas Values aims to map special places throughout Tasmania and, through various comprehensive questionnaires, understand community preferences for management, development, and environmental action. Check out our Current Projects to find out more about our ongoing research.