The AVISTEP tool: Giving birds a seat at the table for renewable energy planning | Dr Golo Maurer

Dr Golo Maurer presented ‘The AVISTEP tool: Giving birds a seat at the table for renewable energy planning’ in an online-only session as part of the RIEL Seminar Series on 21 August 2026. Golo is Director of Bird Conservation Strategy at BirdLife Australia. Almost every bird conservation problem in Australia would be easier to solve without the negative impacts of climate change on top. Renewables can address climate change at the source, but they need to be planned and managed carefully to minimise risks to birds. AVISTEP is an online environmental planning tool using data collected by Birdata volunteers, created by BirdLife Australia with BirdLife International and others. AVISTEP identifies the birds affected by four different types of renewables infrastructure and their sensitivity to it at a 5x5km scale across land and sea, and displays this information using an interactive heat map. The RIEL Seminar Series presents research findings and updates on environmental sciences on a regular basis from March to November. Find out more about our upcoming seminars at https://www.cdu.edu.au/riel/seminars. #RIELSS2026