Are big fires inevitable?
Parliament House, Canberra
Tuesday 27 February 2007
More than 150 invited guests from industry and government
gathered for the first National Bushfire Forum at Parliament House
in Canberra.
A full day of discussion covered many topics but centred on the
need for ongoing funding for research into bushfire management in
Australia and New Zealand.
Discussion topics included:
- ‘Megafires’ - What is the US experience and what
kinds of public policy issues are involved?
- Drought and other climate factors – what is the impact of
long running droughts and longer fire seasons, and what is their
relationship to climate change? Water – how do bushfires
affect the quantity, quality and security of our water
supplies?
- Fire and Land management – how far should we go to
actively manage our bushland? What is the right balance between
fire suppression and fire preparedness?
- Communities – how do we increase self-reliance, where
will we find future volunteers, and how do we manage the expanding
bush-urban interface?
ABC Local Radio provided substantial coverage of the proceedings
including an online series of reports. (Link now not active)
Download a short report on the Forum. The full proceedings are available
online here.
Enquiries:
bushfireforum@bushfirecrc.com
