Stop broadscale burning of native forest
Stop broadscale burning of native forest
The issue
Each year, thousands of hectares of forest and bushland far from towns are deliberately burned in an attempt to mitigate bushfire risk. This broadscale burning of forests pours vast quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere, kills wildlife and destroys habitat, causes significant deterioration in air quality, and poisons our waterways.
Yet evidence shows that this approach is not only damaging to the climate, human health, and the environment but is also ineffective in reducing bushfire risk.
Worse, studies have shown that the flush of shrubs that follows a prescribed burn can mean increased fire risk and severity that starts in the following two to ten years and continues for decades to come. See photo above.
Recent studies have shown that allowing forests to mature to at least 60 years post-fire leads to natural dying back of the flammable under-storey, while the increased canopy reduces wind, creates shade and increases humidity. All these factors contribute to a more fire-resistant environment and suggest that the best approach to fire management in non-urban areas is to manage forests for maturity.
Burning the understorey of small areas close to townships (no more than 0.5 km away) is a form of land clearing that may reduce fire risk if repeated every few years. However, it is clear that large-scale prescribed burning of bushland and forest away from townships is an ineffective approach to fire mitigation.
For community safety, we must stop broadscale burning of native forests and redeploy funds to rapid detection and suppression of fires while the forests mature into a less fire-prone state.
We call on the Minister for the Environment, Steve Dimopoulos, to stop broadscale burning of forests.
Instead, we need the government to:
- Manage forest for maturity, allowing ecological controls to reduce forest flammability.
- Redeploy funds from broadscale burning to rapid detection and suppression of fires using drone technology, infra-red mapping, satellite imagery, and water bombing capacity.
- Boost remote area firefighting capacity.
For a First Nations perspective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHZjyuE2qP8
For more information:
https://www.uwa.edu.au/news/Article/2022/March/Old-forests-three-times-less-flammable
7,652
The issue
Each year, thousands of hectares of forest and bushland far from towns are deliberately burned in an attempt to mitigate bushfire risk. This broadscale burning of forests pours vast quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere, kills wildlife and destroys habitat, causes significant deterioration in air quality, and poisons our waterways.
Yet evidence shows that this approach is not only damaging to the climate, human health, and the environment but is also ineffective in reducing bushfire risk.
Worse, studies have shown that the flush of shrubs that follows a prescribed burn can mean increased fire risk and severity that starts in the following two to ten years and continues for decades to come. See photo above.
Recent studies have shown that allowing forests to mature to at least 60 years post-fire leads to natural dying back of the flammable under-storey, while the increased canopy reduces wind, creates shade and increases humidity. All these factors contribute to a more fire-resistant environment and suggest that the best approach to fire management in non-urban areas is to manage forests for maturity.
Burning the understorey of small areas close to townships (no more than 0.5 km away) is a form of land clearing that may reduce fire risk if repeated every few years. However, it is clear that large-scale prescribed burning of bushland and forest away from townships is an ineffective approach to fire mitigation.
For community safety, we must stop broadscale burning of native forests and redeploy funds to rapid detection and suppression of fires while the forests mature into a less fire-prone state.
We call on the Minister for the Environment, Steve Dimopoulos, to stop broadscale burning of forests.
Instead, we need the government to:
- Manage forest for maturity, allowing ecological controls to reduce forest flammability.
- Redeploy funds from broadscale burning to rapid detection and suppression of fires using drone technology, infra-red mapping, satellite imagery, and water bombing capacity.
- Boost remote area firefighting capacity.
For a First Nations perspective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHZjyuE2qP8
For more information:
https://www.uwa.edu.au/news/Article/2022/March/Old-forests-three-times-less-flammable
7,652
The Decision Makers
Supporter voices
Share this petition
Petition created on 5 September 2023