As our climate and the nature of bushfires become more unpredictable, projects funded by Natural Hazards Research Australia (the Centre) promote resilience and adaption pathways to ensure safer communities.
Year upon year, bushfire behaviour is becoming more volatile and unpredictable across the country – so what can we do to build resilience, protect life, and increase our capability to reduce its impacts?
Several Centre-funded projects seek to answer this question.
One of these is the Bushfire risk at the rural–urban interface project, looking at the bushfire-prone areas where rural and urban environments meet and how to promote change in the management of these bushland communities.
The project is led by the University of Tasmania and supported by Monash University, the Country Fire Authority (CFA); the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action; the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS); the Tasmania Fire Service and the Queensland Fire Department.
Lead researcher Prof David Bowman from the University of Tasmania said as the effects of climate change have emerged, we have not “initiated the adaption program quickly enough”.
“We’ve got a problem where we’re short-handed: the things we were concerned about are now moving [rapidly],” Prof Bowman said.
“You’ve got all of these complex issues building up. The climate instability is really challenging our adaptation,” he said.
“The work that my group’s been doing is trying to think of adaption pathways to be able to cope with this emerging threat.”
Prof Bowman said that the rural-urban interface is a very difficult environment to work in because it is complicated ecologically and socially, but we need to transform this environment to be safer and more sustainable through measures such as fire shelters, green firebreaks, better evacuation points, better gardens and improved house retrofits and design.
With regard to improving bushfire resilience and safety, Prof Bowman used the analogy of the paradigm shift in road safety, were there was once no seatbelts or airbags, unsafe roads, and very limited driver education – but “society turned that right around, [we] invested a lot in building better roads, regulating cars,” and “what we've got to do is translate that into bushfires, where we educate, demonstrate, incentivise,” underpinned by research and development.
Prof Bowman said overall, he feels optimistic about where studies are leading, but we “just need to do the research, the development, the education and operate at scale,” and “we’ve got to feel that level of investment.”
Another Centre-funded project tackling fire preparedness and adaption is the Integrated solutions for bushfire-adaptive homes project, led by CSIRO in collaboration with RMIT University, University of Melbourne, Strahan Research and supported by CFA, the RFS and Monash University.
The project will increase our understanding of how residents and professionals – such as architects, engineers, builders and regulators – can make homes safer from the effects of fire.
Lead researcher Dr Raphaele Blanchi from CSIRO said that building, renovating or improving a home to make it safer if you are living in a bushfire-prone area can feel overwhelming.
“There’s a lot to think about: a lot of technical requirements, but also complex regulations to navigate. Sometimes that can be confusing and sometimes discouraging,” Dr Blanchi said.
“There is also a lot of information, guidelines, and other material that are available, including misinformation, making it hard to understand or to know what really matters, what’s protecting people’s homes or families from a bushfire, and how to prioritise them is a challenge for both residents and professionals,” she said.
“This project is looking at helping not only residents but the professionals who support them.”
Dr Blanchi said there are a few knowledge gaps among the vast amount of information available about protecting houses from bushfire.
“One of the major gaps is in understanding the barriers to motivation for taking action, not only for the residents, but also for the professionals who are involved in the process. Addressing this gap is part of this project’s objective,” she said.
She said there is general uncertainty about the effectiveness of different measures, including how effective a measure or even a combination of measures are in real-world conditions.
“Almost half of Australian properties are at risk from bushfire. And given our climate and the landscape, the bushfire hazard will be ever-present,” Dr Blanchi said.
She said bushfire-adaptive homes are a key element of community resilience, because when homes are better-equipped to survive bushfires, they not only protect life and property, but also enable the community to recover more quickly after an event.
“This is why with this project we use a socio-technical approach because we also recognise that the home [is] a living system, it’s embedded in the landscape and in community. Recognising this helps us design solutions that are both effective and adaptable.”
The Centre-funded First Nations women, cultural fire knowledge, wellbeing and memory project is also building resilience to the extensive impacts of fires through addressing research gaps regarding the experiences of Indigenous women in caring for Country and cultural burning.
The project involves researchers from Monash University and the Indigenous Leadership Initiative and is supported by the Queensland Fire Department, the Gambir Yidinji Cultural Heritage Protection Body, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, and Fire Networks – WTREX.
An impact evaluation of the Australia Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (AUS-WTREX) program, a 12-day intensive training program that brought together 37 women – most who identify as Indigenous women of Australia or overseas – the research focuses on the role of Indigenous women in fire.
Through this, the project contributes to the growing body of literature on the positive health and wellbeing outcomes for Indigenous people engaged in caring for Country through cultural burning practices and explores novel concepts such as the impact of women-led gatherings, cultural burning and knowledge exchange on memory.
Researchers Nell Reidy and Zoe Schultz from the Monash University’s National Indigenous Disaster Resilience program said that across all data, the research team found that AUS-WTREX was an overwhelmingly impactful and positive experience for participants.
“Confidence and empowerment emerged as strong themes across the oral interviews and participant observation. Confidence grew because participants felt safe to challenge themselves, try new things, and were recognised for their knowledge and skills,” Ms Reidy said.
“The act of burning and engaging in culture alongside other Indigenous women, and the opportunity to form new friendships, strengthened participants’ sense of belonging, cultural confidence, and identity. This enabled individual and collective healing, and had positive impacts on participant wellbeing,” Ms Schultz said.
“First Nations women always have, and continue to work hard to protect their communities, culture and Country. Programs like AUS WTREX platform the work of these women and enable connections across this small workforce, fostering a network of support for women across disparate parts of Australia. With ongoing support and resources, this workforce can continue to grow and strengthen.”
To learn more about the Centre-funded research projects protecting communities and building fire resilience, visit www.naturalhazards.com.au