Report calls for major reset of Australia’s bushfire strategy

SYDNEY, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) — A new report has called for a comprehensive reset of Australia’s national bushfire strategy.
The report, published by the University of Tasmania, warns that Australia must shift from reactive to preventative strategies to mitigate the increasing frequency – and intensity – of bushfires.
“A unified, structured response is essential to counter the impacts of fires that are intensifying with climate change,” David Bowman, Director of the University of Tasmania’s Fire Centre and lead author of the report, said in a media release.
A landmark report published by national science agency the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) in October found that the changing climate has caused an increase in extreme weather events and longer bushfire seasons in Australia.
The University of Tasmania report proposes a new three-pronged bushfire response strategy consisting of research and development, education and demonstration and incentives and enforcement.
Bowman said that the revised approach would shift the focus from coping with fires to reducing exposure and vulnerability.
Australia’s bushfire response has historically centered on firefighting capabilities, but Bowman said that the strategy must evolve.
“Research and development equips us with new tools and methods, education fosters community-led solutions, and incentives and enforcement ensure that these practices are widely adopted,” he said.
Additionally, the report calls for Indigenous fire management techniques to be reintegrated.
A separate study published by the Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Nottingham earlier in November found that ancient cultural burning practices carried out by Indigenous Australians limited fuel availability and prevented high-intensity fires for thousands of years before colonization. ■