1 January 2007
As another severe bushfire season unfolds across south eastern
Australia the nation’s business and community leaders, policy
makers and scientists are being invited to contribute to a National
Forum on Bushfires.
The Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre will host the Forum on
Tuesday, 27 February 2007 at Parliament House in Canberra.
Attendance at this event is by invitation only.
The forum will focus on the key issues needed to meet the
challenge of recurring destructive bushfires.
Kevin O’Loughlin, the chief executive officer of the
Bushfire CRC, says recent events show that Australia must better
understand the complex challenges presented by bushfires.
“Bushfires have long been a contributor to the nature of
our landscape. But recent experience suggests we’re having an
increase in the frequency, intensity and size of bushfires across
Australia.
“The challenge is large and immediate – how do we
best manage an increasing bushfire risk in one of the most severe
fire environments in the world? What are the implications for our
water supplies, forestry resources and our cities?”
The one-day forum will bring together experts from around
Australia and internationally to discuss the impact that bushfires
have on the environment, industry and communities.
Major issues to be discussed include:
· Drought and other climate factors
– what is the impact of long running droughts, possible
climate change influencers and longer fire seasons?
· Water – how do bushfires affect
the quantity, quality and security of our water supplies?
· Communities – how do we increase
self-reliance, where will we find future volunteers, and how do we
manage the expanding bush-urban interface?
· 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?
A detailed program will be released closer to the Forum.
