SHOWING RESULTS FOR:
Fire & Climate 2022 – Kevin Tolhurst
Philip Hopkins. Bushfire policy needs to be driven by rigorous science underpinning politics if the landmark federal-state national bushfire management strategy is to be successful, according to one of the nation’s leading bushfire experts. Dr Kevin Tolhurst, AM, Associate Professor of Fire Ecology and Management at Melbourne University, said fire management was dominated by alternate paths based on politics and science.
Does timber harvesting make forests more flammable?
Kevin Tolhurst, Jerry Vanclay. Some ecologists and conservationists, opposed to timber harvesting, are trying to use bushfire disasters as a lever to stop native forest harvesting, but their case is based on opinion, beliefs and selective science. A 2016 study of over 1 million hectares burnt by wildfire in the 2003 fires in Victoria, showed that fire severity across the landscape was driven by weather conditions, slope aspect, fuel levels, atmospheric stability, and the scale of the fires. There was no discernible impact of timber harvesting on fire severity at the landscape scale.
Letter to the Editor – Bushfire management should focus on fuel reduction: McArthur
In my adjournment matter, I encouraged the Minister for Emergency Services to delve more deeply into Dr Tolhurst’s life’s work and consider his recommendation that bushfire management should have a greater focus on fuel load reduction. Dr Tolhurst repeatedly pointed out the folly in prioritising expensive and difficult suppression of fire, instead of fuel load management ... He powerfully argued against an influential Climate Council factsheet, which had concluded “no amount of hazard reduction will protect human lives, animals and properties from catastrophic fires” – pointing out that analysing the extent of burned areas, rather than the severity of the fire, is misleading.
Are Mallacoota and East Gippsland prepared for another major fire? The Howitt Society
The Howitt Society are concerned at the lack of broadscale fuel management operations in East Gippsland over the past four years post the 2019/20 fires ... A public meeting has been convened at Mallacoota to discuss the issue of the long term protection of the townships and the forests of East Gippsland.
Planned burns case labelled “irresponsible”
The Mountain Cattlemen’s Association of Victoria (MCAV) is calling on environmental groups to consider the long-term ramifications of their actions after it came to light that a Federal Court case against planned burns was underway... President of the MCAV, Cass McCormack, said it was yet again proof that continued scientific, academic and anecdotal evidence was being ignored.
Landmark national bushfire framework to save Australian lives, land and property: Forestry Australia
A landmark new body of work has been released to assist governments and private organisations to tackle Australia’s growing bushfire problem and save lives, land and property. Turning the Goals of the National Bushfire Management Policy Statement into Objectives and Key Performance Indicators aims to guide improvements in bushfire management and provide consistent reporting nationally on achievements.
Fire & Climate 2022 – Greg Mullins
Part 2 of a three part series of reports from the conference by Philip Hopkins ... “It’s time for the fire management sector to band together and argue the case for a massive increase in the budget across fire research. Up to 97 per cent of spending is on response and rebuilding during and after events, and only three per cent on preparation and mitigation. That mismatch needs to be turned around but not at the expense of insufficient current operational budgets”: Climate Councillor, Greg Mullins.
Fire & Climate 2022
The first of a three part series by Philip Hopkins. Sharing information globally about the causes and impacts of destructive bushfires in an era threatened by global warming drew about 360 people to an international conference in Melbourne in June. Fire & Climate 2022, presented by the International Association of Wildland Fire in partnership with Natural Hazards Research Australia, concentrated on the most significant forces shaping wildland fire today.
Bushfires and logging debate: Tasmanian Government statement
The Tasmanian Government is continually monitoring new scientific research to ensure the way we regulate forestry is contemporary and consistent with best practice. The Government takes bushfire management and mitigation incredibly seriously and is taking a number of important steps to manage future risk and keep our communities safe. The Government’s position, that actively managing our forests can markedly reduce fuel loads, is supported by a significant number of scientific publications.
