# place-core 0.1.0

- Kind: Sourcing protocol: a declared way of looking (draft, not yet approved)
- Status: draft, not yet reviewed or approved
- As of: 2026-10-16
- Content: 9ecc45fffa9f7df65d6c577dfa4fd2cec01be560766d3b7b6e1eeddd04ce434e
- Address: https://www.plot.eco/protocols/place-core@0.1.0

Place-scale record (LGA, catchment or named local area) in Australia. Initial jurisdictions: VIC (Hobsons Bay), NSW (Tamworth). Facility and company protocols are separate.

A protocol declares, before anything is searched, which questions a place record tries to answer, where PLOT looks for each and in what order, and when it stops. Channels are a search order, not a ranking of truth.

## Sourcing questions (16)

### Q01.place_frame: Place frame and governance

Where exactly is this place, and which governments, agencies and Traditional Owner organisations have roles here?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets; 2. Official documents; 3. First Nations organisations
- Stop when: All resolver outputs present and human-confirmed where flagged.
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T1, KMGBF-T22

### Q02.native_vegetation_extent: Native vegetation extent and types

How much native vegetation is here, of what types, and how does that compare to before clearing?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets; 2. Official documents; 3. Practitioners and community
- Stop when: State mapping found AND at least one local cross-check attempted (found or searched_none_found).
- Refresh: P3Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T1, KMGBF-T2

### Q03.vegetation_condition: Vegetation and habitat condition

What condition is that vegetation in, measured how and when?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets; 2. Official documents; 3. Scientific literature; 4. Practitioners and community
- Stop when: Any method-explicit condition data found, or all channels searched_none_found (then this becomes an evidence-gap NextStep candidate).
- Refresh: P3Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T2

### Q04.vegetation_loss_and_change: Gross vegetation loss and change

How much native vegetation has been lost or gained here, when and why?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets; 2. Regulatory records
- Stop when: At least one time series with method found, or searched_none_found across both channels.
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T1

### Q05.protected_conserved_areas: Protected and conserved areas

What land and water here is formally protected or conserved, under what instrument?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets; 2. Regulatory records; 3. Official documents
- Stop when: CAPAD queried AND state agreements/registers queried.
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T3

### Q06.threatened_species: Threatened species recorded or likely

Which threatened species are recorded here, which only modelled as likely, and how recent is the evidence?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets; 2. Scientific literature; 3. Practitioners and community
- Stop when: State atlas + ALA + PMST queried; species list separated into recorded (with last-record year) vs modelled-likely.
- Refresh: P1Y (sensitive: extra rules apply)
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T4

### Q07.threatened_communities: Threatened ecological communities

Which listed ecological communities occur here, mapped how?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets; 2. Official documents
- Stop when: Commonwealth and state listings checked; mapped vs indicative separated.
- Refresh: P2Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T1, KMGBF-T4

### Q08.biodiversity_data_coverage: Biodiversity data coverage

How well is this place actually surveyed — how many records, how recent, how spread out?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets
- Stop when: Computed deterministically from record metadata (counts by year, taxon group, grid cell).
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T21

### Q09.waterway_and_coastal_condition: Waterway, wetland and coastal condition

What condition are the waterways, wetlands and coast in, by whose monitoring?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets; 2. Official documents; 3. Practitioners and community
- Stop when: Waterway manager reporting found or searched_none_found; each waterway/reach handled separately.
- Refresh: P1Y
- Applies if: `major_waterways not empty OR has_coast`
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T11, KMGBF-T7

### Q10.invasive_species: Invasive species pressure

Which weeds and pest animals are a significant pressure here, and what is being done?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets; 2. Official documents; 3. Practitioners and community
- Stop when: Priority-species list found from a management plan, or searched_none_found; occurrence counts kept separate from management activity.
- Refresh: P2Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T6

### Q11.development_and_land_use_pressure: Development, land use and major projects

What approved or proposed development and land-use change affects nature here?

- Look, in order: 1. Regulatory records; 2. Company reports; 3. Leads (news, web)
- Stop when: Referral and state major-project registers queried for the boundary and last 10 years.
- Refresh: P6M
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T1, KMGBF-T14

### Q12.offsets_and_credits: Offsets, credits and conservation obligations

What offset obligations, credit sites and credit transactions relate to this place?

- Look, in order: 1. Regulatory records; 2. Official documents
- Stop when: All state registers queried for the LGA; supply, demand and transactions kept separate.
- Refresh: P6M
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T15, KMGBF-T19

### Q13.restoration_activity: Restoration and management activity

What restoration and management work is planned, underway or done here, by whom?

- Look, in order: 1. Structured datasets; 2. Official documents; 3. Practitioners and community
- Stop when: Council, CMA/LLS and at least two community groups checked.
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T2

### Q14.strategies_and_commitments: Local strategies, targets and commitments

What has this place's council and region committed to for nature, and by when?

- Look, in order: 1. Official documents
- Stop when: Council strategy register checked; each target recorded with baseline and reporting status if stated.
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T14

### Q15.local_actors: Who works on nature here

Which public bodies, community groups, practitioners and Traditional Owner organisations are active here, and how can they be reached publicly?

- Look, in order: 1. Official documents; 2. Practitioners and community; 3. First Nations organisations
- Stop when: Council directory + Landcare network + formal Traditional Owner registers checked.
- Refresh: P1Y (sensitive: extra rules apply)
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T22

### Q16.nature_funding_flows: Nature funding into this place

What money is going to nature work here, from whom, for what?

- Look, in order: 1. Official documents; 2. Company reports
- Stop when: Council budget + state/federal grant announcements checked; pledged/awarded/spent separated.
- Refresh: P1Y
- Framework targets: KMGBF-T19

## Source catalogue (26)

Where PLOT may look. "candidate" means a person has not yet confirmed its access, licence and coverage.

- ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard (LGA, urban areas) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, AU; download; candidate), licence: CC BY 4.0 (to confirm)
- Atlas of Living Australia occurrence and species APIs (Atlas of Living Australia, AU; api; candidate), licence: per-dataset (record-level licences vary)
- Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) (Australian Government DCCEEW, AU; download; candidate)
- EPBC Act public notices and referrals (Australian Government DCCEEW, AU; portal; candidate)
- Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) (Australian Government DCCEEW, AU; download; candidate)
- National Native Title Tribunal spatial data (National Native Title Tribunal, AU; download; candidate)
- Private land conservation agreements register (BCT / Biodiversity Conservation Act registers) (NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust / NSW DCCEEW, NSW; portal; candidate)
- BioNet Species Sightings Web Service (OData) (NSW DCCEEW, NSW; api; candidate), licence: Species data licence terms apply (to review)
- BioNet Threatened Biodiversity Web Service (NSW DCCEEW, NSW; api; candidate)
- Biodiversity Offsets Scheme public registers (credit supply, demand, transactions) and BioBanking registers (NSW DCCEEW, NSW; download; candidate), licence: Register use-purpose terms apply; review before redistribution
- BioNet Vegetation Classification (Plant Community Types) (NSW DCCEEW, NSW; api; candidate)
- Local Land Services strategic plans (relevant region) (Local Land Services, NSW; document; candidate)
- NSW Planning Portal (major projects, LEPs, spatial viewer incl. Biodiversity Values Map) (NSW Department of Planning, NSW; portal; candidate)
- SEED — Sharing and Enabling Environmental Data portal (NSW Government, NSW; portal; candidate)
- NSW State Vegetation Type Map (current and pre-clearing), BioNet map services (NSW DCCEEW, NSW; map_service; candidate)
- National Vegetation Information System (extant and pre-1750 MVG/MVS) (Australian Government DCCEEW, AU; download; candidate)
- EPBC Protected Matters Search Tool (Australian Government DCCEEW, AU; portal; candidate)
- Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT) / EPBC threatened lists (Australian Government DCCEEW, AU; portal; candidate)
- Threatened Species Index (TSX / NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub successors, AU; download; candidate)
- Biodiversity 2037 activity data (ActivityKit) (Victoria DEECA, VIC; portal; candidate)
- CoastKit (marine and coastal data) (Victoria DEECA, VIC; map_service; candidate)
- DEECA DataShare spatial downloads (incl. EVC mapping, Victorian Land Cover Time Series) (Victoria DEECA, VIC; download; candidate)
- NatureKit (EVCs, habitat distribution models, Strategic Management Prospects) (Victoria DEECA, VIC; map_service; candidate)
- Victorian planning schemes and overlays (VicPlan) (Victoria Department of Transport and Planning, VIC; map_service; candidate)
- Regional Catchment Strategy (relevant CMA) (Catchment Management Authorities, VIC; document; candidate)
- Victorian Biodiversity Atlas (Victoria DEECA, VIC; portal; candidate), licence: Published versions seen under CC BY-NC 4.0 — commercial redistribution needs review

## Changes

- 0.1.0 (2026-10-16): First draft. 16 questions, VIC + NSW + national resolvers, cost defaults are guesses.

Cite as: PLOT sourcing protocol place-core@0.1.0 (draft; content 9ecc45fffa9f), as of 2026-10-16