Project Leader - John Handmer, RMIT

Nobody has yet got the accurate numbers on bushfire impacts - the economic, social and environmental costs. Current estimates often ignore economic principles and are of limited value in dealing with governments that increasingly require fire agencies to justify their actions with economic and other quantitative indicators. Much work on bushfire economics is being done overseas, especially in the US, although much of this work concerns forestry rather than urban interface issues. Considerable loss assessment work has also been done for other hazards like flooding. This project draws on this work where appropriate, and builds collaboration with experienced overseas fire economists.

This Bushfire CRC project expands the scope of what is normally included in bushfire loss assessment, to ensure that coverage is comprehensive, taking into account the costs of arson, the impact of error and uncertainties, carbon accounting, additional impacts of mega events, volunteers, and intangible losses. In most natural hazards economics research, intangible losses  are the stumbling block to establishing a comprehensive loss assessment framework. A method for costing intangibles such as memorabilia, health effects and environmental damage and benefits, needs to be created, so an accurate assessment can be made of the economic impacts of fire. The project will also investigate the little-studied potential impact of climate change on fires, and will examine appropriate and economically efficient ways to manage this.

One of our first priorities is to establish the cost effectiveness of aerial fire fighting through a joint project with Program A - Project A  C 1.

Project Leader: Prof John Handmer, RMIT, Ph: (03) 9925 2307