tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/bushfire-2019-80624/articlesbushfire 2019 – The Conversation2023-02-05T19:01:56Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1989892023-02-05T19:01:56Z2023-02-05T19:01:56Z200 experts dissected the Black Summer bushfires in unprecedented detail. Here are 6 lessons to heed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508010/original/file-20230203-11974-x9h86j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5463%2C3448&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Crosling/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 were cataclysmic: a landmark in Australia’s environmental history. They burnt more than 10 million hectares, mostly forests in southeast Australia. Many of our most distinctive, ancient and vulnerable species were worst affected.</p>
<p>A new book released today, titled <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/8085/">Australia’s Megafires</a>, synthesises the extent of the losses. The work involved contributions from more than 200 scientists and experts. It provides the most comprehensive assessment yet of how the fires affected biodiversity and Indigenous cultural values, and how nature has recovered. </p>
<p>The work reveals a picture of almost unfathomable destruction. More than 1,600 native species had at least half their range burnt. And hundreds of species and ecosystems became nationally threatened for the first time, or were pushed closer to extinction.</p>
<p>We must use Black Summer as an opportunity to learn – and make fundamental changes. Here, we outline six lessons to heed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="firefighters silhouetted against flames" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507994/original/file-20230202-14422-29yhsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507994/original/file-20230202-14422-29yhsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507994/original/file-20230202-14422-29yhsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507994/original/file-20230202-14422-29yhsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507994/original/file-20230202-14422-29yhsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507994/original/file-20230202-14422-29yhsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507994/original/file-20230202-14422-29yhsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We must use Black Summer as an opportunity to learn – and make fundamental changes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. Natural systems are already stressed</h2>
<p><strong>Problem:</strong> Even before Black Summer, most Australian ecosystems were already struggling due to multiple threats.</p>
<p>The threatened alpine bog communities in the Australian Capital Territory, for example, were already being damaged by climate change, weeds and feral animals. Then the Black Summer fires came through and burnt 86% of known sites.</p>
<p>Put all these threats together, and recovery for these ecosystems – which are slow to develop – will not be easy. They may be lost altogether, along with threatened animals that call the bogs home, such as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-the-broad-toothed-rat-a-chubby-cheeked-and-inquisitive-australian-rodent-that-needs-our-help-160929">broad-toothed rat</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Solution:</strong> Managing crises such as fires is not enough on its own. Our natural systems must be made more resilient. More effective legislation and management is needed to control all threats that degrade nature. And in some cases, threatened species may need to be relocated to put them out of harm’s way.</p>
<h2>2. We don’t know what, or where, all species are</h2>
<p><strong>Problem:</strong> Thousands of Australian species are not (or barely) known to science. It’s very hard to protect a species if we don’t know it exists, where it lives or how it responds to fire.</p>
<p>For example, it’s likely that the Black Summer fires sent many invertebrate species – such as insects and spiders - to extinction. But we’ll never know because <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-bushfires-could-drive-more-than-700-animal-species-to-extinction-check-the-numbers-for-yourself-129773">they were never</a> described by Western science, and their distributions were never traced.</p>
<p>Only about 30% of Australia’s estimated 320,000 invertebrate species have been <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/env/pages/2ee3f4a1-f130-465b-9c7a-79373680a067/files/nlsaw-2nd-complete.pdf">described</a> by taxonomists. Of those that are described, most are known from only one or two records, which provides only limited insight. Information is similarly poor for fungi.</p>
<p><strong>Solution:</strong> We need to gather more information about how species and environments respond to fires, and to what extent conservation efforts after fires are working. This is especially true for poorly known species groups. And the data should be made accessible to all who seek it. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/they-might-not-have-a-spine-but-invertebrates-are-the-backbone-of-our-ecosystems-lets-help-them-out-193447">They might not have a spine, but invertebrates are the backbone of our ecosystems. Let's help them out</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339072/original/file-20200602-95065-1tchq7k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339072/original/file-20200602-95065-1tchq7k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339072/original/file-20200602-95065-1tchq7k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339072/original/file-20200602-95065-1tchq7k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339072/original/file-20200602-95065-1tchq7k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339072/original/file-20200602-95065-1tchq7k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339072/original/file-20200602-95065-1tchq7k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339072/original/file-20200602-95065-1tchq7k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kangaroo Island Micro-trapdoor spiders were among the many invertebrate species affected by the fires.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Jess Marsh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Emergency responders don’t have enough information</h2>
<p><strong>Problem:</strong> Emergency responders told us that during the fires, they didn’t have the information to prioritise the most important areas for conservation. </p>
<p>We found across 13 agencies, just two threatened species were covered by a specific and accessible emergency plan: the Wollemi pine and the eastern bristlebird. These plans told emergency responders what rescue action was needed.</p>
<p>For example, a plan was in place to protect the only known natural stand of Wollemi pines, in New South Wales. This prompted an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/15/dinosaur-trees-firefighters-save-endangered-wollemi-pines-from-nsw-bushfires">extraordinary firefighting effort</a> during the Black Summer fires. The effort was successful.</p>
<p><strong>Solution:</strong> More than 1,800 of Australia’s plant and animal species are at risk of extinction. We must identify which are a priority, where they are, and how to protect them from bushfires. This information must be communicated to emergency responders and incorporated into regional fire management plans.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="three firefighters seated" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508000/original/file-20230202-21890-qkldpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508000/original/file-20230202-21890-qkldpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508000/original/file-20230202-21890-qkldpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508000/original/file-20230202-21890-qkldpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508000/original/file-20230202-21890-qkldpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508000/original/file-20230202-21890-qkldpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508000/original/file-20230202-21890-qkldpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fire officials need more information to help them protect natural assets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Mariuz/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Biodiversity usually comes last</h2>
<p><strong>Problem:</strong> Traditionally, the hierarchy of what to protect in disasters goes like <a href="https://naturaldisaster.royalcommission.gov.au/">this</a>: first human life, then infrastructure, and finally biodiversity. If this hierarchy continues, some of our most significant species and natural environments will be lost. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/8085/">one example</a> recounted to the book’s researchers, fire authorities decided to prioritise saving a few farm sheds over 5,000 hectares of national park. </p>
<p><strong>Solution:</strong> There are cases, such as avoiding extinctions, where protecting nature is more important than saving infrastructure. Community priorities should be surveyed, and the information used to inform planning and policy. </p>
<p>Legal obligations to protect biodiversity in fires are few. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/bad-and-getting-worse-labor-promises-law-reform-for-australias-environment-heres-what-you-need-to-know-186562">current re-working</a> of federal environment laws provides an opportunity to change this.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bad-and-getting-worse-labor-promises-law-reform-for-australias-environment-heres-what-you-need-to-know-186562">'Bad and getting worse': Labor promises law reform for Australia's environment. Here's what you need to know</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="blackened sign of kangaroo and bunt bush" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507999/original/file-20230202-21275-cm8k8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507999/original/file-20230202-21275-cm8k8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507999/original/file-20230202-21275-cm8k8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507999/original/file-20230202-21275-cm8k8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507999/original/file-20230202-21275-cm8k8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507999/original/file-20230202-21275-cm8k8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507999/original/file-20230202-21275-cm8k8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Biodiversity is often the last priority of fire managers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. Conservation funding is grossly insufficient</h2>
<p><strong>Problem:</strong> Decades of sustained management effort is needed to recover many species and environments affected by fire. Unfortunately, funding for the task is short-term and inadequate.</p>
<p>For example, both state and federal governments invested heavily in controlling feral herbivores, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/31/australias-black-summer-bushfires-showed-the-impact-of-human-wrought-change-aoe">such as deer</a>, in the months after the fires. This was done to protect unburnt and regenerating vegetation. Yet, eventually the funding dries up and feral <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7319105/rapid-rise-in-feral-deer-numbers-in-the-act/">populations rebound</a>. </p>
<p>Extra funding for some short-term recovery projects flowed in the wake of the Black Summer fires – from governments, the private sector and the community. But for many species, recovery will be a long-term proposition – if it happens at all.</p>
<p><strong>Solution:</strong> Governments must stop seeing spending on the environment as optional. It’s as fundamental to our society and well-being as health and education – and funding levels should reflect this.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="hand holds lizard" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508006/original/file-20230203-9745-6g7g5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508006/original/file-20230203-9745-6g7g5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508006/original/file-20230203-9745-6g7g5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508006/original/file-20230203-9745-6g7g5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508006/original/file-20230203-9745-6g7g5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508006/original/file-20230203-9745-6g7g5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508006/original/file-20230203-9745-6g7g5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An endangered Rosenberg’s monitor at Kangaroo Island, after the Black Summer fires. For many species, recovery is a long road.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Mariuz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>6. First Nations knowledge has been sidelined</h2>
<p><strong>Problem:</strong> First Nations people have <a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-expertise-is-reducing-bushfires-in-northern-australia-its-time-to-consider-similar-approaches-for-other-disasters-155361">used fire</a> to manage forested landscapes for millenia. Yet their knowledge and perspectives have not been incorporated into forest fire management and recovery.</p>
<p>So how has this come about? Barriers identified in the book include inadequate employment and training opportunities for First Nations people to undertake cultural burning activities. Also, First Nations people are frequently denied access to Country to rekindle and develop their land management skills, and lack the legal authority to undertake cultural burning.</p>
<p>And as the book shows, cross-cultural challenges mean non-Indigenous fire officers can have limited appreciation or knowledge of Indigenous cultural burning protocols.</p>
<p><strong>Solution:</strong> Indigenous people should be supported to <a href="https://www.firesticks.org.au/">rekindle</a> cultural fire practices in forests. And non-Indigenous fire managers should, with consent from First Nations people, incorporate these practices into policies governing fire management and recovery. </p>
<p>What’s more, species and sites that are culturally important to First Nations people should be prioritised for protection and recovery.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fire-management-in-australia-has-reached-a-crossroads-and-business-as-usual-wont-cut-it-174696">Fire management in Australia has reached a crossroads and 'business as usual' won’t cut it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="people walk around bush with small fire burning" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508007/original/file-20230203-14422-b3hnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508007/original/file-20230203-14422-b3hnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508007/original/file-20230203-14422-b3hnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508007/original/file-20230203-14422-b3hnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508007/original/file-20230203-14422-b3hnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508007/original/file-20230203-14422-b3hnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508007/original/file-20230203-14422-b3hnpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">First Nations fire knowledge has been sidelined. Pictured: a workshop on Indigenous fire practices in Bungendore, NSW, in 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kydpl Kyodo</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Harnessing our grief</h2>
<p>The Black Summer fires showed people care. The disaster triggered an outpouring of grief from Australia and around the world. We understood one thing clearly: we were losing what enriches our lives. </p>
<p>But protecting our precious natural assets requires a fundamental reset of Australia’s fire management. </p>
<p>More broadly, the Black Summer fires kickstarted a huge collaborative recovery effort from governments, conservation and research organisations, and First Nations groups. If we’re to be better prepared for future megafires, this impetus must continue.</p>
<p><a href="https://bushfires2020.netlify.app"><img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1103/Explore.gif?1594552012" width="100%"></a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Libby Rumpff received funding from the NESP Threatened Species Hub, which funded the book. She was on the Commonwealth Government's Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel. She is employed by University of Melbourne, and the Australian Government (as of October 2022). All views are her own.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Wintle has received funding from The Australian Research Council, the Victorian State Government, the NSW State Government, the Queensland State Government, the Commonwealth National Environmental Science Program, the Ian Potter Foundation, the Hermon Slade Foundation, and the Australian Conservation Foundation. Wintle is a Board Director of Zoos Victoria. Brendan Wintle is a member of the Biodiversity Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Woinarski received funding from the NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub, which also provided some support for this book. He was a member of the Commonwealth Government's Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Legge received funding from the NESP Threatened Species Hub, which also funded the book. She was on the Commonwealth Government's Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel, and is on the Commonwealth Government's Threatened Species Committee.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen van Leeuwen received funding from the NESP Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub and is currently employed as the BHP-Curtin Indigenous Chair of Biodiversity and Environmental Science and fills the position of Deputy Director and Senior Indigenous facilitator in the NESP Resilient Landscape Hub. Stephen was on the Commonwealth Government's Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel, and is also on the Commonwealth Government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee and the Indigenous Advisory Committee.</span></em></p>In one finding, fire authorities chose to save a few farm sheds over 5,000 hectares of national park. Clearly, our fire management needs a reset.Libby Rumpff, Senior Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneBrendan Wintle, Professor in Conservation Science, School of Ecosystem and Forest Science, The University of MelbourneJohn Woinarski, Professor (conservation biology), Charles Darwin UniversitySarah Legge, Professor, Australian National UniversityStephen van Leeuwen, Indigenous Chair of Biodiversity & Environmental Science, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1606002021-05-10T19:52:50Z2021-05-10T19:52:50ZNew research finds native forest logging did not worsen the Black Summer bushfires<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399625/original/file-20210510-19-atw8t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C3888%2C2572&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Black Summer bushfires shocked the world and generated enormous global media interest. Fire scientists like myself found themselves filling a role not unlike sport commentators, explaining the unfolding drama in real time. </p>
<p>Scientists who engaged with the media during the crisis straddled two competing imperatives. First was their duty to share their knowledge with the community while knowing their understanding is imperfect. Second was the ethical obligation to rigorously test hypotheses against data analysis and peer review – the results of which could only be known long after the fires were out. </p>
<p>One area where this tension emerged was around the influential idea that logging exacerbated the bushfire disaster. <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6582795/logging-makes-forest-fires-worse-experts/">During</a> the fire crisis and in the months afterwards, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1195-5">some scientists suggested</a> logging profoundly affected the fires’ severity and frequency. There were associated <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/117/22/12481.full.pdf">calls</a> to cease native forestry and shift wood production to plantations.</p>
<p>But there is <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.2211">no scientific consensus</a> about the possible effects of logging on fire risk. In fact, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01464-6">research</a> by myself and colleagues, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution today, shows logging had little if any effect on the Black Summer bushfires. Rather, the disaster’s huge extent and severity were more likely due to unprecedented drought and sustained hot, windy weather.</p>
<p>These findings are significant for several reasons. Getting to the bottom of the bushfires’ cause is essential for sustainable forest management. And, more importantly, our research confirms the devastating role climate change played in the Black Summer fires.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309587/original/file-20200113-103966-ofqyn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309587/original/file-20200113-103966-ofqyn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309587/original/file-20200113-103966-ofqyn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309587/original/file-20200113-103966-ofqyn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309587/original/file-20200113-103966-ofqyn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309587/original/file-20200113-103966-ofqyn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309587/original/file-20200113-103966-ofqyn8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Firefighters recover after battling blazes at Kangaroo Island on 10 January 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Mariuz/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Looking for patterns</h2>
<p>Our research focused on 7 million hectares of mostly eucalyptus forests, from the subtropics to temperate zones, which burned between August 2019 and March 2020.</p>
<p>There is <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12122">some evidence</a> to suggest logged areas are more flammable that unlogged forests. Proponents of this view <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1195-5.epdf?sharing_token=FR8Tf_MJYhE8Nsh6h4z389RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0M-z7YvjyeqJX6OoSVUN4CTwKkALYBXZLlt-CxwxoH_DyTpyGVtdWDJtBabEX6wsl2zN0vcXSdc_4oPxe6_soKWhRHbT14hVqi-JCnmGZJoiowcxjN1PG7P39GqOOYdO7cYw_J9cuEjcdV3-SuLF1apYC-CiWqyoR4QhjIqJvSdhj1ToAqWgS9kOavJ6hUdmOE%3D&tracking_referrer=www.theguardian.com">say</a> logging regimes make the remaining forests hotter and drier, and leave debris on the ground that increases the fuel load.</p>
<p>In our research, we wanted to determine:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the relative roles logging and other factors such as climate played in fires that destroyed or completely scorched forest canopies</p></li>
<li><p>whether plantations are more vulnerable to canopy scorch than native forests.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>To do so, we used landscape ecology techniques that could compare very large areas with different patterns of land use and fire severity. We sampled 32% of the area burnt in three regions spanning the geographic range of the fires.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-has-pledged-over-800m-to-fight-natural-disasters-it-could-be-revolutionary-if-done-right-160348">The government has pledged over $800m to fight natural disasters. It could be revolutionary — if done right</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="firefighters run past fire" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399626/original/file-20210510-16-oq6sul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399626/original/file-20210510-16-oq6sul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399626/original/file-20210510-16-oq6sul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399626/original/file-20210510-16-oq6sul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399626/original/file-20210510-16-oq6sul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399626/original/file-20210510-16-oq6sul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399626/original/file-20210510-16-oq6sul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The research used landscape ecology techniques to compare large areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Fire intensity is classified according to the vertical layer of vegetation burnt. A scorched tree canopy suggests the most intense type of fire, where the <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-51727-8_72-1">heat</a> extended from the ground to the treetops.</p>
<p>We found several predictors of canopy damage. First, completely scorched canopy, or canopy consumed by fire, typically occurred across connected swathes of bushland. This most likely reflected instances where the fire made a “run”, driven by localised winds. </p>
<p>Extreme weather fire conditions were the next most important predictor of canopy damage. The drought had created vast areas of tinder-dry forests. Temperatures during the fire season were hot and westerly winds were strong.</p>
<p>Southeast Australia’s climate <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/australia%E2%80%99s-black-summer-a-climate-wake-up-call">has changed</a>, making such extreme fire weather more frequent, prolonged and severe. </p>
<p>Logging activity in the last 25 years consistently ranked “low” as a driver of fire severity. This makes sense for several reasons.</p>
<p>As noted above, fire conditions were extraordinarily extreme. And there was mismatch between the massive area burnt and the comparatively small areas commercially logged in the last 25 years (4.5% in eastern Victoria, 5.3% in southern NSW and 7.8% in northern NSW). </p>
<p>Fire severity is also related to landscape features: fire on ridges is generally worse than in sheltered valleys.</p>
<p>Our research also found timber plantations were as prone to severe fire as native forestry areas. In NSW (the worst-affected state) one-quarter of plantations burned – than 70% severely. This counteracts the suggestion using plantations, rather than logging native forest, can avoid purported fire hazards.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-you-have-unfinished-business-its-time-to-let-our-fire-people-care-for-this-land-135196">Australia, you have unfinished business. It's time to let our 'fire people' care for this land</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="plantation forest divided by road" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399627/original/file-20210510-15-15dl46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399627/original/file-20210510-15-15dl46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399627/original/file-20210510-15-15dl46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399627/original/file-20210510-15-15dl46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399627/original/file-20210510-15-15dl46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399627/original/file-20210510-15-15dl46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399627/original/file-20210510-15-15dl46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plantation forests were found to be highly flammable.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A challenge awaits</h2>
<p>Our findings are deeply concerning. They signal there is no quick fix to the ongoing fire crisis afflicting Australia and other flammable landscapes.</p>
<p>The crisis is being driven by relentless climate change. Terrifyingly, it has the potential to turn forests from critical stores of carbon into volatile sources of carbon emissions released when vegetation burns.</p>
<p>Under a rapidly warming and drying climate, fuel loads are likely to become less important in determining fire extent and severity. This will make it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to lower fuel loads in a way that will limit bushfire severity.</p>
<p>A massive challenge awaits. We must find socially and environmentally acceptable ways to make forests more resilient to fire while the also produce sustainable timber products, store carbon, provide water and protect biodiversity.</p>
<p>The next step is a real-world evaluation of management options. One idea worth exploring is whether the fire resistance of native forests can be improved in specific areas by altering tree density, vegetation structure or fuel loads, while sustaining biodiversity and amenity.</p>
<p>Commercial forestry could potentially do this, with significant innovation and willingness to let go of current practices.</p>
<p>Through collective effort, I’m confident we can sustainably manage of forests and fire. Our study is but a small step in a much bigger, zig-zagging journey of discovery.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-bushfire-and-holiday-seasons-converge-it-may-be-time-to-say-goodbye-to-the-typical-australian-summer-holiday-129337">As bushfire and holiday seasons converge, it may be time to say goodbye to the typical Australian summer holiday</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="forest regenerating after fire" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399630/original/file-20210510-16-mf4e84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399630/original/file-20210510-16-mf4e84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399630/original/file-20210510-16-mf4e84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399630/original/file-20210510-16-mf4e84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399630/original/file-20210510-16-mf4e84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399630/original/file-20210510-16-mf4e84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399630/original/file-20210510-16-mf4e84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Forests must become fire-resilient while performing other functions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160600/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Bowman receives funding to study fire ecology and management from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the NSW Bushfire Risk Management Research Hub, Bushfire and Natural Hazard CRC, and the Tasmanian Government Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment.
</span></em></p>Our research is deeply concerning because it signals there are no quick fixes to the ongoing fire crisis afflicting Australia, which is being driven by relentless climate change.David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1587032021-04-29T01:54:25Z2021-04-29T01:54:25Z‘We know our community better than they do’: why local knowledge is key to disaster recovery in Gippsland<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397506/original/file-20210428-15-u4d9ds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C91%2C1000%2C574&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Overcoming the odds is second nature to the Gippsland community. The people in this region have seen it all — fires, floods, droughts and extreme weather. And every time, these capable, resourceful and independent communities bounce back. </p>
<p>However, recovery from bushfires of the 2019/2020 Black Summer followed by the COVID-19 pandemic has been different.</p>
<p>Even before these events, we were researching <a href="https://www.bnhcrc.com.au/casestudy/riskownership">vulnerability to natural hazards</a>, <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/risk-ownership-framework-for-emergency-management-policy-and-practice.pdf">risk ownership</a> and <a href="https://www.bnhcrc.com.au/research/diversityinclusion">diversity and inclusion</a> nationally as part of our work with the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre. </p>
<p>Through a mix of interviews, focus groups and surveys, we sought insights about communities, how they recover after disaster and what factors have the greatest impact. We focused on community strengths and how to build on them.</p>
<p>Our recently released report, <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/growing-the-seeds.pdf">Growing the seeds: recovery, strength and capability in Gippsland communities</a>, highlights that recovery is often non-linear. It’s not just the damage to infrastructure, houses, environment and farmland that makes recovery difficult; the emotional and physical toll is often gruelling as well. </p>
<p>The report identifies several opportunities for change, including the need for a long-term plan (five years minimum) for building community emergency management capability in the region — well before the next disaster strikes.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397498/original/file-20210428-15-bts7ii.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397498/original/file-20210428-15-bts7ii.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397498/original/file-20210428-15-bts7ii.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397498/original/file-20210428-15-bts7ii.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397498/original/file-20210428-15-bts7ii.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397498/original/file-20210428-15-bts7ii.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397498/original/file-20210428-15-bts7ii.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397498/original/file-20210428-15-bts7ii.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our research highlights recovery is often non-linear, an observation well supported by other research in this field.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/growing-the-seeds.pdf">Growing the seeds report.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A brutal time</h2>
<p>The 2019–20 fires damaged over half of the East Gippsland Shire, an area of over
1.16 million hectares. Over 400 dwellings and businesses were lost and four people lost their lives. Areas like Mallacoota were at acute risk. In some areas, communities were under threat for weeks and evacuated repeatedly, exhausting them before the recovery process began. </p>
<p>Then, the pandemic hit, disrupting the established pattern of recovery where people get together to make sense of what has happened and start to rebuild their communities. One person describe the timing as “brutal”. Another said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When the fires happened, you had a couple of amazing people who stepped up, opened the hall, and everyone was coming in, and they started doing Friday night dinners and everyone was there. There were 200-odd people every Friday night and then COVID ended it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Via online community consultations, interviews and focus groups, we asked community members to identify strengths that supported recovery and opportunities for change. </p>
<p>We also surveyed 614 people during October 2020 in fire-affected regions of Victoria and New South Wales, with 31% of respondents coming from Victoria and 69% from NSW.</p>
<p>When asked what strengths their community showed following the bushfires, they included generosity and kindness (69%), resilience (61%) and active volunteering (59%).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397494/original/file-20210428-13-djp1qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397494/original/file-20210428-13-djp1qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397494/original/file-20210428-13-djp1qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=236&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397494/original/file-20210428-13-djp1qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=236&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397494/original/file-20210428-13-djp1qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=236&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397494/original/file-20210428-13-djp1qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397494/original/file-20210428-13-djp1qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397494/original/file-20210428-13-djp1qt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/growing-the-seeds.pdf">Growing the seeds report.</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When asked to identify the main challenges since the bushfire, COVID was named as the main challenge (49%), followed by damage to the environment (39%), anxiety (31%) and overall fatigue (26%).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397714/original/file-20210429-13-6320q7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397714/original/file-20210429-13-6320q7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397714/original/file-20210429-13-6320q7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397714/original/file-20210429-13-6320q7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397714/original/file-20210429-13-6320q7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397714/original/file-20210429-13-6320q7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397714/original/file-20210429-13-6320q7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397714/original/file-20210429-13-6320q7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/growing-the-seeds.pdf">Growing the seeds report.</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The combination of bushfires and the pandemic also created economic risks and disrupted supply chains. Small businesses make up 98% of the local economy, and many are heavily reliant on tourism.</p>
<h2>Recovering through community strength and capability</h2>
<p>Many of the strengths needed to drive recovery and resilience are already at the heart of these communities. These capabilities are more diverse and widespread than is often assumed.</p>
<p>There is considerable wealth and capacity in some areas, but also a high level of social and economic vulnerability, with some living hand-to-mouth. </p>
<p>There is significant local knowledge of risk management and recovery, which is often overlooked by experts coming in from outside. As one person told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You’ve got bureaucracy coming in from Melbourne who think that we’re just a bunch of country bumpkins who don’t quite know what we’re doing, yet we know our community better than they do. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Volunteer and informal economies are significant and underpin community resilience. Yet formal recovery strategies don’t target these areas very well; some people in the informal economy found they did not qualify for economic or business support at all.</p>
<p>The JobSeeker and JobKeeper programs helped maintain employment (albeit at levels of productivity that were lower than in the past). JobKeeper has now ended but support is still needed to boost productivity and help the local economy recover.</p>
<p>We also found:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>government and some supporting agencies often lacked knowledge about the cultural, physical and social structures of different communities</p></li>
<li><p>some policies had perverse effects (for example, the <a href="https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/grants-schemes/homebuilder">HomeBuilder grant</a> resulted in a lack of available builders)</p></li>
<li><p>programs and communication were often not tailored and did not accommodate the diverse needs of communities or specific cohorts within them</p></li>
<li><p>a lack of clarity as to what role the community have in response and recovery, and what risks they are responsible for</p></li>
<li><p>short-term allocation of resources and funding sometimes created an environment of uncertainty; for example, some participants raised concerns vulnerable community members may at risk when contracts for certain programs ran out, as the service offered would either cease or be led by a new contract-holder. As one person told us:</p></li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>You can’t just bring someone in now and go, ‘Here you go, you take over all my people’, because the relationships and the trust that you build over this time, it’s not something you can hand over to someone else.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Knowing community strengths and supporting them</h2>
<p>Recovery processes will never be perfect and we can also no longer assume communities will have time to recover from one disaster before the next arrives. As one person said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>People are suffering collective trauma, which creates anxiety and irritability. So, it is going to be difficult to move forward and I believe [name removed] will be a really changed place, this is something that will echo up and down along all fire-ravaged communities.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In natural hazard prone areas like Gippsland, it’s crucial to know what strengths already exist in the community so they can be harnessed when disaster hits. In other words, we need to find ways to support and grow community capabilities.</p>
<h2>Listening to communities</h2>
<p>It’s crucial communities, governments and the emergency services have a shared understanding of what the priorities are after a disaster and what can be realistically achieved.</p>
<p>A database of community capabilities would support more effective planning, policy-making and program development, as would a longer term collaborative project to identify and develop community capability.</p>
<p>Through listening to these communities we can learn from their experiences and support the development of community-led pathways to recovery.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-a-decade-after-the-black-saturday-fires-its-time-we-got-serious-about-long-term-disaster-recovery-planning-158078">More than a decade after the Black Saturday fires, it's time we got serious about long-term disaster recovery planning</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone
you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. This story is part of a series The Conversation is running on the nexus between disaster, disadvantage and resilience. It is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay foundation. You can read the rest of the stories <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/disaster-and-resilience-series-97537">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158703/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Celeste Young receives funding from the Bushfires and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger Jones receives funding from the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC. </span></em></p>First the fires, then the pandemic. It’s not just the damage to infrastructure, houses, environment and farmland that makes recovery difficult; the emotional and physical toll is often gruelling too.Celeste Young, Collaborative Research Fellow, Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities (ISILC), Victoria UniversityRoger Jones, Professorial Research Fellow, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1285392020-07-28T02:59:32Z2020-07-28T02:59:32ZHumans see just 4.7km into the distance. So how can we truly understand what the bushfires destroyed?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349487/original/file-20200727-35-869n8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C325%2C3989%2C2408&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jamie Pittock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the ashes from Australia’s last bushfire season cooled, we were left with a few mind-boggling numbers: <a href="https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/publications/research-papers/download/36-research-papers/13904-bushfires-2019-20">34 human lives</a> lost, more than <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-31/fact-check-have-bushfires-killed-more-than-a-billion-animals/11912538">a billion</a> animals dead, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/summer-bushfires-how-are-the-plant-and-animal-survivors-6-months-on-we-mapped-their-recovery-142551">18.6 million hectares</a> of land burned.</p>
<p>But those figures don’t necessarily help us understand what was lost. The human mind struggles to grasp very large scales. And in Australia, our colonial past skews the way we view landscapes today. </p>
<p>This disconnect is important. Many scientific concepts, including climate change, happen at scales outside human perception. </p>
<p>Understanding the scale of destruction wrought by bushfires is vital if governments and societies are to adapt in the future. So how can Australians truly come to terms with the damage wrought by last summer’s bushfires?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Dead koala in burnt forest" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349489/original/file-20200727-31-1xauuwq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349489/original/file-20200727-31-1xauuwq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349489/original/file-20200727-31-1xauuwq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349489/original/file-20200727-31-1xauuwq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349489/original/file-20200727-31-1xauuwq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349489/original/file-20200727-31-1xauuwq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349489/original/file-20200727-31-1xauuwq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More than a billion animals died in last summer’s fires.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Mariuz/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Beyond human perception</h2>
<p>On average, humans can only see <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/how-far-can-the-human-eye-see#earthly-limits">about 4.7 kilometres</a> into the distance. So perceiving the true extent of the destruction bushfires requires <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cogs.12388">using our imaginations</a>. </p>
<p>This is not only true of bushfires. It also applies to human understanding of climate change, nanoseconds, the size of the Universe and the geological time scale (the millions of years over which continents, oceans and mountains formed).</p>
<p>But science has shown humans have trouble understanding, or imagining, large orders of magnitude. In <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.5408/1089-9995-55.5.413">one US study</a> for example, university students struggled to understand the relative relationships between the age of the Earth, the time required for the origin of the first life forms, and the evolution of dinosaurs and humans. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/click-through-the-tragic-stories-of-119-species-still-struggling-after-black-summer-in-this-interactive-and-how-to-help-131025">Click through the tragic stories of 119 species still struggling after Black Summer in this interactive (and how to help)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Even university students <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cogs.12388">studying STEM subjects</a> (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) have been shown to struggle with identifying and comparing magnitudes at large scales. </p>
<p>So what’s actually going on in our brains here? Research suggests humans use both numerical and “categorical” information – concepts drawn from their prior experience – to estimate the size of an object. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10868335/">For example</a>, a person estimating the width of a truck might set it as a proportion of the presumed width of highway lanes. </p>
<p>The use of this prior experience can improve the accuracy of estimations. But it can also introduce bias and lead to inexact estimations.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students in lab" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349493/original/file-20200727-35-9a768c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349493/original/file-20200727-35-9a768c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349493/original/file-20200727-35-9a768c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349493/original/file-20200727-35-9a768c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349493/original/file-20200727-35-9a768c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349493/original/file-20200727-35-9a768c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349493/original/file-20200727-35-9a768c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Even university students studying STEM subjects struggled to comprehend large orders of magnitude.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Understanding vast landscapes</h2>
<p>During the fires, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/satellite-images-provide-a-sickening-view-of-australian-fires-from-space/news-story/6ab9675ed08bd1310983089c773251d8">satellite images</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/datablog/ng-interactive/2019/dec/07/how-big-are-the-fires-burning-on-the-east-coast-of-australia-interactive-map">interactive maps</a> sought to help us understand the scale of the crisis. But they can’t give a full picture of the life destroyed. So how might we otherwise understand the richness lost in a burnt landscape? </p>
<p>Unfortunately, our colonial views of the land are not much help here. British colonisation of Australia, and subsequent land laws, were <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02440042">established</a> on the basis of “terra nullius” – meaning the land belonged to no one. This denied Indigenous people’s prior occupation of the land in order to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/117718011401000506">legitimise</a> its “lawful” settlement by Europeans.</p>
<p>Settlers tended to describe the Australian landscape as <a href="https://digital.sl.nsw.gov.au/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?embedded=true&toolbar=false&dps_pid=FL3668750">empty and unpopulated</a> when, in fact, it was biologically [<a href="https://www.magabala.com/products/dark-emu">abundant</a>] and peopled by Indigenous Australians.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-this-grandmother-tree-connects-me-to-country-i-cried-when-i-saw-her-burned-129782">Friday essay: this grandmother tree connects me to Country. I cried when I saw her burned</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These colonial views have had lasting effects. It took more than 200 years before the terra nullius <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=970100638;res=IELAPA;type=pdf">myth</a> was formally dispelled by the 1992 <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/mabo-case">Mabo decision</a>. </p>
<p>Seeking to understand Indigenous perspectives of Country might help non-Indigenous Australians to truly comprehend the loss brought by bushfires. As Indigenous academic Bhiamie Williamson <a href="https://theconversation.com/strength-from-perpetual-grief-how-aboriginal-people-experience-the-bushfire-crisis-129448">wrote on The Conversation</a> in January:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>the experience of Aboriginal peoples in the fire crisis engulfing much of Australia is vastly different to non-Indigenous peoples. How do you support people forever attached to a landscape after an inferno tears through their homelands: decimating native food sources, burning through ancient scarred trees and destroying ancestral and totemic plants and animals?</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A human-centric view</h2>
<p>Beyond the colonial influence, our generally human-centred view of the world also tends to render invisible the plants and wildlife within it. As Australian researcher Brendan Wintle and others noted in <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/S0169-5347(20)30171-3?rss=yes">a recent paper</a>, firefighting strategies routinely overlook the need to protect natural assets. They wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It may be unrealistic to expect critical habitats of our most precarious species to compete for firefighting resources with houses and farms. We are far too self-interested. However, could we imagine the last remaining habitat for a brush-tailed rock-wallaby (<em>Petrogale penicillata</em>) might feature as an asset for protection in a fire that is burning through a wilderness area? Surely that needs doing. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In other words, gaining a better understanding the scale of a fire’s destruction means taking a more holistic view of what dwells in the landscape, and might need saving.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Brush-tailed rock wallaby and joey" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349492/original/file-20200727-17-x9ulkg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349492/original/file-20200727-17-x9ulkg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349492/original/file-20200727-17-x9ulkg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349492/original/file-20200727-17-x9ulkg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349492/original/file-20200727-17-x9ulkg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349492/original/file-20200727-17-x9ulkg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349492/original/file-20200727-17-x9ulkg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rock wallaby habitat should be protected from fire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Taronga Zoo</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Future fires</h2>
<p>Under climate change, bushfires in Australia will become more severe and frequent. So bearing in mind our limited abilities to perceive the potential scale of loss next time, what can we do to prepare?</p>
<p>As Wintle argues, more work is needed to organise conservation efforts before, during, and immediately after a bushfire. That includes establishing “insurance populations” of species and keeping them out of harm’s way, and better monitoring and surveying before a fire, so we know which places need protecting.</p>
<p>Williamson wrote of how most Indigenous Australians “have been consigned to the margins in managing our homelands”, watching on as they were “mismanaged and neglected”, which increased the bushfire risk.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/double-trouble-this-plucky-little-fish-survived-black-summer-but-theres-worse-to-come-139921">Double trouble: this plucky little fish survived Black Summer, but there's worse to come</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The current bushfire royal commission has <a href="https://naturaldisaster.royalcommission.gov.au/publications/commonwealth-letters-patent-20-february-2020">pledged to consider</a> ways Indigenous land and fire management practices could improve our resilience to natural disasters. There is much room for ancient traditions to be incorporated into mainstream fire management.</p>
<p>It will take some time to grasp the repercussions of the last bushfire season. But it’s clear that we must transcend colonial, non-Indigenous, human-centred perceptions of the land if we’re to truly understand what was lost.</p>
<p><a href="https://bushfires2020.netlify.app"><img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1103/Explore.gif?1594552012" width="100%"></a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128539/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nanda Jarosz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many scientific concepts, including bushfires and climate change, happen at scales outside human perception. So how can we ever understand them?Nanda Jarosz, PhD Candidate, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1396652020-07-07T19:52:37Z2020-07-07T19:52:37ZAfter last summer’s fires, the bell tolls for Australia’s endangered mountain bells<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339661/original/file-20200604-130912-1ystm50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C20%2C3489%2C2771&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">_Darwinia nubigena_ also known as the Success Bell or Red Mountain Bell</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">A.T Morphet</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of Flora, Fauna, Fire, a special project by The Conversation that tracks the recovery of Australia’s native plants and animals after last summer’s bushfire tragedy. Explore the project <a href="https://bushfires2020.netlify.app/">here</a> and read more articles <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=%23bushfire+recovery+2020&sort=relevancy&language=en&date=all&date_from=&date_to=">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Hidden in the Stirling Range national park in Western Australia – an area so diverse, so ecologically important, I’ve <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/rn/legacy/features/balancingnature/australia.htm">described</a> it as a “coral reef out of water” – are Australia’s spectacular mountain bells.</p>
<p>When Western botanists encountered these predominantly bird-pollinated plants, they found them so intriguing and so unlike anything they knew (Britain has no bird pollination), they named them <em>Darwinia</em> after Charles Darwin’s grandfather, Erasmus Darwin. </p>
<p>These breathtaking native Australian flowers are now at grave risk from recent fires, with many species listed on the government’s <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/289205b6-83c5-480c-9a7d-3fdf3cde2f68/files/summary-list-plants-requiring-urgent-management-intervention.pdf">provisional list</a> of plants requiring urgent management intervention. The Stirling Ranges were ravaged by this summer’s fires, and three-quarters of this WA national park now experience fire cycles twice as frequent as species recovery rates.</p>
<p>If it sounds grim, that’s because it is. There’s hope yet for the mountain bell, though, thanks largely to the efforts of concerned community members. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339371/original/file-20200603-133855-1epuxtr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"><em>Darwinia collina</em>, the yellow mountain bell, is listed as endangered.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">A. T. Morphet</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why are mountain bells so special?</h2>
<p>With an astonishing range of colours, the Stirling Range mountain bells are the glamour plants in WA’s floral bouquet.</p>
<p>Standing up to 60cm tall, these glorious shrubs are a gardener’s dream. They have neat foliage and pendulous, bell-like flowers in colours ranging from yellow, to greens, to striking reds and multicoloured variegated blooms.</p>
<p><em>Darwinia</em> has just 70 species – a modest number compared with some plant genera in Australia.</p>
<p>They occur in southeastern <em>and</em> southwestern Australia. <em>Darwinia</em> split from their ancestral lineage 16 million years ago with the southwest, including the Stirling Ranges – a cradle of the genus. The chance dispersal of seed to southeastern Australia meant the two nodes of diversity were separated by the Nullarbor and central desert, and evolved in splendid isolation. How these heavy-seeded plants managed such an epic journey across the Australian deserts remains a mystery.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-phoenix-factor-what-home-gardeners-can-learn-from-natures-rebirth-after-fire-122620">The phoenix factor: what home gardeners can learn from nature's rebirth after fire</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Nectar-hungry Australian birds found the rewards in the rain-protected, bell-like flowers irresistible. </p>
<p>In what was a blink of evolutionary time, mountain bells capitalised on birds as a better system for pollination than offered by insects, and new species appeared across the peaks of the Stirlings. </p>
<p>Today, there are ten species of mountain bells. All but one are only found in the Stirling Ranges, often on single peaks or in highly restricted locations. And many feature on the provisional <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/289205b6-83c5-480c-9a7d-3fdf3cde2f68/files/summary-list-plants-requiring-urgent-management-intervention.pdf">list</a> of plants requiring urgent management.</p>
<p>Virtually each peak could have its very own mountain bell. I recall my first encounter with the mountain bells years ago. I’d spotted the delicate cherry-coloured blooms of Wittwer’s bell nestled in a small wooded hollow, midway along the main drive through the Stirlings. I eagerly sought out other mountain bell species and, soon enough, realised I had an untreatable case of “bell fever”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339417/original/file-20200603-130929-1nhwpxz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A _Darwinia macrostegia or Mondurup Bell on Mondurup Peak.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">A.T Morphet</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A biodiversity hotspot at a crossroads</h2>
<p>Traditional owners revered the Stirling Ranges as sacred land that had endured countless ice ages and climate ravages. But today, the Stirling Ranges are at a crossroads. </p>
<p>The discovery of dieback disease (<em>Phytophthora cinnamomi</em>) in 1974, as well as fires both prescribed and natural, have taken a heavy toll on the plants and animals in the park. </p>
<p>Last summer’s cataclysmic fires <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-07/bushfires-cause-stirling-ranges-biodiversity-to-be-devastated/11844516">scorched</a> half of the Stirling Ranges national park, and the danger the mountain bells now face is emblematic of the broader problem of biodiversity loss. </p>
<p>Many plants and animal species here may never recover. Yes, many Australian plants evolved to cope with bushfire - but not with how frequently these fires are reoccurring. </p>
<p>The Stirling Ranges national park is like no other, with an astonishing 1,500 plant species, eclipsing the flora of the British Isles.</p>
<h2>Threats abound</h2>
<p>Contemporary fire is now one of the single greatest threats to what remains of this extraordinary ecosystem. </p>
<p>The mountain bells need more than 15 years or more to rebuild their soil seed bank, as these plants are killed by even the mildest of fire.</p>
<p>We knew this was coming. Dire predictions by conservation scientists as early as 2015 warned the Stirling Ranges faced a biodiversity meltdown, and that mountain bells were particularly at risk of extinction.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-the-bushfires-we-helped-choose-the-animals-and-plants-in-most-need-heres-how-we-did-it-138736">After the bushfires, we helped choose the animals and plants in most need. Here's how we did it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Though the fires have retreated, the once thriving populations of mountain bells are reduced to blackened stems. It is indescribably sad to see.</p>
<p>For some species, the 2020 bushfires came hot on the heels of an out-of-control prescribed burn in 2018, and few species can survive such short interval fire. Scientists are surveying the damage, to see if parts of the soil seed bank survived to grow the next generation of mountain bells. But it may be too late for some species. Time will tell.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339660/original/file-20200604-130929-hoo9oz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The endemic grass tree <em>Kingia australis</em> absorbs ethylene gas from bushfire to initiate flowering within months.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Keith Bradbury</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Community action</h2>
<p>Is there a future for mountain bells? I like to think so. I have grown them in wildflower gardens from cuttings handed down from wildflower gardeners over decades. Through temperamental and often unpredictable to grow, mountain bells are remarkably easy to propagate. </p>
<p>A key part of saving our mountain bells is, I believe, intimately linked to the community of wildflower enthusiasts. These passionate, committed community members stand ready to help save the last bells. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339672/original/file-20200604-130969-1e2kcbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Stirling Ranges national park in Western Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/trevor_dobson_inefekt69/16749385235/in/photolist-rw5YG4-r7QGFK-2hZrf7X-2ifcq2V-omzcRv-2idG6Y4-2idJoZc-2hZ29jc-omzcdg-28Xc5mi-2icKAub-2icJBX2-pc3qzN-2ifGSnS-2ifcsjq-2ig3qpF-2idJiDH-2ifGRVp-2idKtQi-SdCqeP-rw1jCN-qBvCmk-245Aen1-2ig5PZk-2i98V4M-pHiKNE-2ide7vF-2icJM9o-2idJotn-2i1rjxn-2icdoe2-2ig5Rry-2icgU4W-2idgopU-2hZUPGt-2i98Q34-2i1rf4c-oCRPbN-omzc8M-Si94rg-pc2XLB-oKDb9c-ppXb44-oKD7or-re1HnD-omYqgz-pF8i1Y-2idgnvE-2i9curS-2ifcqkL">Trevor Dobson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The way we’ve done conservation in the past needs a reboot. For the mountain bells and many other threatened species to have a future, we need to embrace a new way of engaging with community volunteers and particularly our traditional owners. </p>
<p>Everyone I have spoken to is ready to roll up their sleeves and help our plants, and animals struggling to come out of the fires. Such an approach will need trust, training and support - but it may be our only hope. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heat-detecting-drones-are-a-cheaper-more-efficient-way-to-find-koalas-140332">Heat-detecting drones are a cheaper, more efficient way to find koalas</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://bushfires2020.netlify.app"><img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1103/Explore.gif?1594552012" width="100%"></a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139665/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kingsley Dixon receives funding from the Australian Research Council, primarily for the Centre for Mine Site Restoration. He has received funding in the past from various government and non-government bodies for rare flora research. He is a member of the state and federal Threatened Species Scientific Committee, a member of the Australian Orchid Foundation and a board member of the Society for Ecological Restoration (in Australia and internationally) and partner chapters.</span></em></p>Three quarters of WA’s Stirling Ranges national park now experience fire cycles twice as frequent as species recovery rates.Kingsley Dixon, John Curtin Distinguished Professor, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1387362020-05-20T20:03:57Z2020-05-20T20:03:57ZAfter the bushfires, we helped choose the animals and plants in most need. Here’s how we did it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335982/original/file-20200519-152349-1tsh6lh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=215%2C565%2C3597%2C2546&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Marius/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>No other event in our lifetimes has brought such sudden, drastic loss to Australia’s biodiversity as the last bushfire season. Governments, researchers and conservationists have committed to the long road to recovery. But in those vast burnt landscapes, where do we start?</p>
<p>We are among the wildlife experts advising the federal government on bushfire recovery. Our role is to help determine the actions needed to stave off extinctions and help nature recover in the months and years ahead.</p>
<p>Our first step was to systematically determine which plant and animal species and ecosystems needed help most urgently. So let’s take a closer look at how we went about it.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335998/original/file-20200519-152349-fyr413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335998/original/file-20200519-152349-fyr413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335998/original/file-20200519-152349-fyr413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335998/original/file-20200519-152349-fyr413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335998/original/file-20200519-152349-fyr413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335998/original/file-20200519-152349-fyr413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335998/original/file-20200519-152349-fyr413.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plants and animals are recovering from the fires, but some need a helping hand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Crosling/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sorting through the smoke</h2>
<p>One way to work out how badly a species is affected by fire is to look at how much of its distribution – or the area in which it lives – was burnt.</p>
<p>This is done by overlapping fire maps with maps or records showing the species’ range. The greater the overlap, the higher the potential fire impact. But there are several complicating factors to consider:</p>
<p><strong>1. Susceptibility:</strong> Species vary in how susceptible they are to fire. For instance, animals that move quickly - such as red-necked wallabies and the white-throated needletail - can escape an approaching fire. So too can animals that burrow deeply into the ground, such as wombats.</p>
<p>Less mobile animals, or those that live in vegetation, are more likely to die. We also considered post-fire recovery factors such as a species’ vulnerability to predators and reproductive rate.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335972/original/file-20200519-83397-4fk3wl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335972/original/file-20200519-83397-4fk3wl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335972/original/file-20200519-83397-4fk3wl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335972/original/file-20200519-83397-4fk3wl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335972/original/file-20200519-83397-4fk3wl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335972/original/file-20200519-83397-4fk3wl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335972/original/file-20200519-83397-4fk3wl.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The white-throated needle tail can escape the flames.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Tarrant/Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>2. What we know:</strong> The quality of data on where species occur is patchy. For example, there are thousands of records for most of Australia’s 830 or so bird species. But there are very few reliable records for many of Australia’s 25,000-odd plant species and 320,000-odd invertebrate species.</p>
<p>So while we can estimate with some confidence how much of a crimson rosella’s distribution burned, the fire overlaps for less well-known species are much less certain.</p>
<p><strong>3. The history of threats:</strong> The impact of fires on a region depends on the extent of other threats, such as drought and the region’s fire history. The time that elapses between fires can influence whether populations have recovered since the last fire.</p>
<p>For instance, some plants reproduce only from seed rather than resprouting. Fires in quick succession can kill regrowing plants before they’ve matured enough to produce seed. If that happens, species can become locally extinct.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335995/original/file-20200519-152311-fo4ltp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335995/original/file-20200519-152311-fo4ltp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335995/original/file-20200519-152311-fo4ltp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335995/original/file-20200519-152311-fo4ltp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335995/original/file-20200519-152311-fo4ltp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=824&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335995/original/file-20200519-152311-fo4ltp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=824&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335995/original/file-20200519-152311-fo4ltp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=824&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors supplied</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>4. Fire severity:</strong> Some areas burn more intensely than others. High severity fires tend to kill more animals. They also incinerate vegetation and can scorch seeds lying in the soil. </p>
<p>Many Australian plant species are exquisitely adapted to regenerate and resprout after fire. But if a fire is intense enough, even these plants may not bounce back.</p>
<p><strong>5. Already threatened?:</strong> Many species affected by these bushfires were already in trouble. For some, other threats had already diminished their numbers. Others were highly vulnerable because they were found only in very limited areas. </p>
<p>The bushfires brought many already threatened species closer to extinction. And other species previously considered secure are now threatened. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sure-save-furry-animals-after-the-bushfires-but-our-river-creatures-are-suffering-too-133004">Sure, save furry animals after the bushfires – but our river creatures are suffering too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Which species made the list?</h2>
<p>With these issues in mind, and with contributions from many other experts, we compiled lists of plant, invertebrate and vertebrate species worst-affected by the 2019-20 fires. A similar assessment was undertaken for threatened ecosystems. </p>
<p>Some 471 <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/bushfire-recovery/priority-plants">plant</a>, 213 <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/bushfire-recovery/priority-invertebrates">invertebrate</a> and 92 <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/bushfire-recovery/priority-animals">vertebrate</a> species have been identified as a priority for interventions. Most had more than half their distribution burnt. Many have had more than 80% affected; some had 100% burnt. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335989/original/file-20200519-152284-1bnq9xf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335989/original/file-20200519-152284-1bnq9xf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335989/original/file-20200519-152284-1bnq9xf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335989/original/file-20200519-152284-1bnq9xf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335989/original/file-20200519-152284-1bnq9xf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335989/original/file-20200519-152284-1bnq9xf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335989/original/file-20200519-152284-1bnq9xf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The purple copper butterfly is listed as a priority for recovery efforts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Priority invertebrates include land snails, freshwater crayfish, spiders, millipedes, beetles, dragonflies, grasshoppers, butterflies and bees. Many species had very small ranges. </p>
<p>For example, the inelegantly named <em>Banksia montana</em> mealybug – a tiny insect - existed only in the foliage of a few individuals of a single plant species in Western Australia’s Stirling Range, all of which were consumed by the recent fires. </p>
<p>Some priority plants, such as the Monga waratah, have persisted in Australia since their evolution prior to the break-up of the Gondwanan supercontinent about 140 million years ago. More than 50% of its current range burned, much at high severity. During recovery it is vulnerable to diseases such as phytophthora root rot. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-the-australian-bush-is-recovering-from-bushfires-but-it-may-never-be-the-same-131390">Yes, the Australian bush is recovering from bushfires – but it may never be the same</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Some priority vertebrates have tiny distributions, such as the Mt Kaputar rock skink that lives only on rocky outcrops of Mt Kaputar near Narrabri, New South Wales. Others had large distributions that were extensively burnt, such as the yellow-bellied glider. </p>
<p>The priority lists include iconic species such as the koala, and species largely unknown to the public, such as the stocky galaxias, a fish that lives only in an alpine stream near Cooma in NSW.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335974/original/file-20200519-83375-5h96qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335974/original/file-20200519-83375-5h96qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335974/original/file-20200519-83375-5h96qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335974/original/file-20200519-83375-5h96qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335974/original/file-20200519-83375-5h96qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335974/original/file-20200519-83375-5h96qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335974/original/file-20200519-83375-5h96qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Half the Monga waratah’s range burned in the fires.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s being done</h2>
<p>A federal government scheme is now allocating grants to projects that aim to help these species and ecosystems recover.</p>
<p>Affected species need immediate and longer-term actions to help them avoid extinction and recover. Critical actions common to all fire-affected species are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>careful management of burnt areas so their recovery isn’t compromised by compounding pressures</p></li>
<li><p>protecting unburnt areas from further fire and other threats, so they can support population recovery</p></li>
<li><p>rapid surveys to identify where populations have survived. This is also the first step in ongoing monitoring to track recovery and the response to interventions.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Targeted control of feral predators, herbivores and weeds is also essential to the recovery of many priority species. </p>
<p>In some rare cases, plants or animals may need to be moved to areas where populations were reduced or wiped out. Captive breeding or seed collection can support this. Such restocking doesn’t just help recovery, it also spreads the risk of population loss in case of future fires.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336003/original/file-20200519-152288-1c05243.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336003/original/file-20200519-152288-1c05243.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336003/original/file-20200519-152288-1c05243.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336003/original/file-20200519-152288-1c05243.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336003/original/file-20200519-152288-1c05243.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336003/original/file-20200519-152288-1c05243.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336003/original/file-20200519-152288-1c05243.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Feral animals such as cats threaten native species in their recovery.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hugh McGregor, Threatened Species Recovery Hub</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Long road back</h2>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has led to some challenges in implementing recovery actions. Like all of us, state agency staff, NGOs, academics and volunteer groups must abide by public health orders, which have in some cases limited what can be done and where. </p>
<p>But the restrictions may also have an upside. For instance, fewer vehicles on the roads might reduce roadkill of recovering wildlife. </p>
<p>As states ease restrictions, more groups will be able to continue the recovery process.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-find-burnt-starving-koalas-weeks-after-the-bushfires-133519">Scientists find burnt, starving koalas weeks after the bushfires</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As well as action on the ground, much planning and policy response is still required. Many fire-affected species must be added to threatened species lists to ensure they’re legally protected, and so remain the focus of conservation effort. </p>
<p>Fire management methods must be reviewed to reduce the chance of future catastrophic fires, and to make sure the protection of biodiversity assets is considered in fire management planning and suppression.</p>
<p>Last bushfire season inflicted deep wounds on our biodiversity. We need to deal with that injury. We must also learn from it, so we can respond swiftly and effectively to future ecological disasters.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Many species experts and state/territory agency representatives contributed to the analyses of priority species. Staff from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (especially the Environmental Resources Information Network (Geospatial and Information Analytics Branch), the Protected Species and Communities Branch and the Threatened Species Commissioner’s Office) and Expert Panel members also contributed significantly to this work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138736/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Woinarski receives funding from the Australian Government's National Environmental Science Program through the Threatened Species Recovery Hub. He is Deputy Chair of the government's Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dale Nimmo is a member of the Australian Government's Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel. He receives funding the Australian Research Council, the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, and the Hermon Slade Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachael Gallagher receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Legge receives funding from the National Environmental Program, through the Threatened Species Recovery Hub. She is a member of the Australian Government's Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel, and Deputy Chair of the Australian Government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee.</span></em></p>How fast can an animal run? How intense was the fire? Picking which species to help after a bushfire tragedy is no easy task.John Woinarski, Professor (conservation biology), Charles Darwin UniversityDale Nimmo, Associate Professor in Ecology, Charles Sturt UniversityRachael Gallagher, Senior Lecturer/ARC DECRA Fellow, Macquarie UniversitySarah Legge, Professor, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1322732020-03-08T19:01:28Z2020-03-08T19:01:28ZNext time, we’ve got to handle emergency donations better<p>As Australia burned over summer, many of us gave generously, donating an extraordinary <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/bushfire-donations-near-500-million-as-watchdogs-put-charities-on-notice-20200117-p53sg5.html">A$500 million</a> by mid-January.</p>
<p>Charities had to scramble, as did organisations directing us to charities. For its new year’s eve fundraiser the ABC chose the <a href="https://www.redcross.org.au/news-and-media/media-centre/media-releases/red-cross-welcomes-abc-new-year-s-eve-broadcasts-s">Red Cross</a>.</p>
<p>Weeks later, the New South Wales state MP for Bega, Andrew Constance, a local whose electorate was in the heart of the fires, attacked the Red Cross, and also the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul, arguing not all of the money was <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-22/andrew-constance-attacks-red-cross-for-bushfire-donation-delays/11890538">getting through</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The money is needed now, not sitting in a Red Cross bank account earning interest so they can map out their next three years and do their marketing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Red Cross responded, conceding it was using 10% of donations for administration but noting that it was handing out <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AustralianRedCross/photos/a.10150382567607222/10159381298317222/?type=3&theater">A$1 million</a> every day.</p>
<p>The confusion and negativity continued, with comedian <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-20/celeste-barber-fundraiser-money-tied-up-legal-complications/11979108">Celeste Barber</a> seeking legal advice over the fate of A$50 million she raised for the NSW Rural Fire Service. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/celebrity-concern-about-bushfires-could-do-more-harm-than-good-to-help-they-need-to-put-boots-on-the-ground-129627">Celebrity concern about bushfires could do more harm than good. To help they need to put boots on the ground</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It was too much for the fire service to spend quickly on running expenses and buying and maintaining equipment. And it was prevented by its trust deed from passing it on to other charities.</p>
<p>The fallout suggests we want to be sure our money is being used to help, but we’re not sure that it is.</p>
<h2>What can charities and donors do?</h2>
<p>My research into the role played by <a href="https://eprints.utas.edu.au/23941/">reputation</a> in donations indicates that it is important for charities to define their role clearly.</p>
<p>This includes stating plainly how they are meeting the reporting and other requirements imposed on them by the <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/media/news/charities-and-bushfire-disaster">Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission</a> and educating the public about those <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/media/news/charities-and-bushfire-disaster">requirements</a>.</p>
<p>We need to do our research, think carefully before donating, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-donate-to-australian-bushfire-relief-give-money-watch-for-scams-and-think-long-term-129445">watch out for scammers</a>. </p>
<p>It is important to be comfortable with each charity’s mission and objectives. They cannot act outside them without running the risk of being deregistered. </p>
<p>We can search for information on all charities using the commission’s charity search tool <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity">www.acnc.gov.au/charity</a>, or for smaller sets of charities using charity ranking sites such as:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://probonoaustralia.com.au/guide-to-giving/">Probono Australia</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://thirdsector.com.au/2018-most-reputable-charities-revealed/">Third Sector</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.changepath.com.au/guide.php">Changepath</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.thegoodcause.co/insights/2018/7/6/who-are-australias-best-and-worst-charities">The Good Cause</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm">Charity Navigator</a></p></li>
</ul>
<p>The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission already does a lot, but given the power, there’s more it could do.</p>
<h2>What can Australia’s regulator do?</h2>
<p>It could require funds raised for emergencies to be kept in trust, and reported on in more detail at regular intervals through a running statement of distribution of funds. </p>
<p>It could require further standardised reporting, although this would be expensive and charities are already heavily criticised for the percentage of funds used for administration.</p>
<p>It could also set up a one-stop shop for disaster relief.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319040/original/file-20200306-118897-1aw2sy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brian May and Adam Lambert of Queen perform at the Fire Fight Australia relief concert in Sydney, Sunday February 16, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joel Carrett/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://dfat.gov.au/aid/topics/investment-priorities/building-resilience/humanitarian-preparedness-and-response/bangladesh-myanmar-crisis/Pages/bangladesh-myanmar-crisis-appeal.aspx">department of foreign affairs</a> set up one for foreign disasters that was first used for the Bangladesh-Myanmar appeal in 2017, bringing together eight Australian charities to create a single website and a single phone number that could be used to direct calls to each individual charity.</p>
<p>There are <a href="https://humanitarianadvisorygroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/HAG-Independent-Think-Piece-Joint-funding-mechanisms-July-2017.pdf">understandable calls</a> to do the same thing for domestic disasters.</p>
<p>Some charities might not welcome combined appeals, fearing they would reduce their own visibility and impose more hurdles. But the hurdles shouldn’t be impossible to leap. A <a href="https://www.emergency-appeals-alliance.org/">global</a> organisation has been set up to ensure best practice.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-select-a-disaster-relief-charity-83928">How to select a disaster relief charity</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The <a href="https://advancebushfireappeal.gofundraise.com.au/">Advance Global Australian Bushfire Appeal</a> set up by five charities during the bushfires shows what can be done, as does February’s <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/fire-fight-australia-concert-raises-almost-10-million-for-australian-bushfire-reliefhttps://www.sbs.com.au/news/fire-fight-australia-concert-raises-almost-10-million-for-australian-bushfire-relief">Fire Fight Australia concert</a>.</p>
<p>A government-certified single point of contact, backed up with specific reporting requirements, could provide a level of certainty that the public feel more comfortable with in times of emergency in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132273/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Debbie Wills received a one-off grant from AFAANZ to study accountability and charities in 2019</span></em></p>We’ve set up a single point of contact for foreign disasters, we could do if for Australian disasters as well.Debbie Wills, Lecturer in Accounting, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1318912020-02-23T19:57:13Z2020-02-23T19:57:13ZBuzz off honey industry, our national parks shouldn’t be milked for money<p>Among the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/14/a-billion-animals-the-australian-species-most-at-risk-from-the-bushfire-crisis">vast number</a> of native species damaged by the recent bushfire crisis, we must not forget native pollinators. These animals, mainly insects such as <a href="https://www.science.org.au/curious/earth-environment/australias-native-bees-0">native bees</a>, help sustain ecosystems by pollinating native plants.</p>
<p>Native pollinator populations have been decimated in burned areas. They will only recover if they can recolonise from unburned areas as vegetation regenerates.</p>
<p>Since the fires, Australia’s beekeeping industry has been pushing for access to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-01-10/fire-affected-beekeepers-appeal-for-access-to-national-parks/11854886">national parks</a> and other unburned public land. This would give introduced pollinators such as the European <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/h/honeybeeWhile%20we%20acknowledge%20the%20losses%20sustained%20by%20the%20honey%20industry,%20authorities%20must%20refuse%20/">honeybee</a>, (<em>Apis mellifera</em>) access to floral resources.</p>
<p>But our native pollinators badly need these resources – and the recovery of our landscapes depends on them. While we acknowledge the losses sustained by the honey industry, authorities should not jeopardise our native species to protect commercial interests.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316618/original/file-20200221-92558-oy2svd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316618/original/file-20200221-92558-oy2svd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316618/original/file-20200221-92558-oy2svd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316618/original/file-20200221-92558-oy2svd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316618/original/file-20200221-92558-oy2svd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316618/original/file-20200221-92558-oy2svd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316618/original/file-20200221-92558-oy2svd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The commercial honeybee industry wants access to national parks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The bush: a hive of activity</h2>
<p>The European honeybee is the main commercial bee species in Australia. It exists in two contexts: in hives managed for honey production, and as a pest exploiting almost every wild habitat. Honeybees in managed hives are classified as livestock, the same way pigs and goats are. </p>
<p>Feral and (to a lesser extent) managed honeybees contribute a broad variety of crop pollination services, including for <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-03/almond-growers-in-australia-to-struggle-after-bee-fire-deaths">almond</a>, apple and lucerne (also called alfalfa) crops. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/keeping-honeybees-doesnt-save-bees-or-the-environment-102931">Keeping honeybees doesn't save bees – or the environment</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Pollinators visit the flowers of the crop plants and ensure they are fertilised to produce fruit and seed. Beekeepers are often paid to put their bees in orchards since trees (such as almond trees) cannot produce a crop without insect pollination.</p>
<p>But native species of bees, beetles, flies and birds are <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-15/fact-check-honey-bee-pollination/10365750">just as important</a> for crops. They are also essential for pollination, seed production and the regulation of Australia’s unique ecosystems – which evolved without honeybees.</p>
<h2>Nature at risk</h2>
<p>The honeybee industry sustained considerable losses in the recent fires, particularly in New South Wales and on South Australia’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-07/quarter-of-kangaroo-islands-ligurian-beehives-lost/11845372">Kangaroo Island</a>. Commercial hives were destroyed and floral resources were burned, reducing the availability of sites for commercial hives. This has prompted calls from beekeepers to place hives in national parks.</p>
<p>Currently, beekeepers’ access to conservation areas is limited. This is because bees from commercial hives, and feral bees from previous escapes, damage native ecosystems. They compete with native species for nectar and pollen, and pollinate certain plant species over others. </p>
<p>In NSW, honeybees are listed as a <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive-species/publications/asian-honey-bee-possible-environmental-impacts">key threatening process</a> to biodiversity.</p>
<h2>Untold damage</h2>
<p>Allowing commercial hives in our national parks compromises these valuable places for conservation and could do untold damage. </p>
<p>Australia’s native birds, mammals and other insects rely on the same nectar from flowers as honeybees, which are abundant and voracious competitors for this sugary food.</p>
<p>Also, honeybees pollinate <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/biodiversity/invasive/weeds/weedspeciesindex.pl?id=701">invasive weeds</a>, such as <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/30033767?seq=1">gorse</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-3180.2004.00391.x">lantana</a> and <a href="https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-2005-865855">scotch broom</a>. These are adapted to recover and spread after fire, and are very expensive to control. </p>
<p>Many native plant species are not pollinated, or are pollinated inefficiently, by <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2001.00236.x">honeybees</a>. This means a concentration of honeybee hives in a conservation area could shift the entire makeup of native vegetation, damaging the ecosystem.</p>
<p>Bringing managed hives into national parks would also risk transferring damaging <a href="https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-08/native-bee-honey-bee-disease-parasite-research-qld/11392606">diseases such as Nosema ceranae</a> to native bee species.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316537/original/file-20200220-92558-171wayf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316537/original/file-20200220-92558-171wayf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316537/original/file-20200220-92558-171wayf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316537/original/file-20200220-92558-171wayf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316537/original/file-20200220-92558-171wayf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316537/original/file-20200220-92558-171wayf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316537/original/file-20200220-92558-171wayf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316537/original/file-20200220-92558-171wayf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gorse (<em>Ulex europaeus</em>) is considered an invasive weed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jim-sf/4545662546/in/photolist-6eRFTe-2ifwPWt-2ifwPHH-2ifxQsN-bdZcon-Nnyuvb-9L8gN2-bdZbuX-6eW1vC-beyLtz-bdZ6Dx-4GjqwA-6mWmmV-9L8gKV-8NsREf-9L8gJR-beyJ8c-beyJJF-czmpTE-beyJqD-ZyZHoa-5HwRLf-6eVNJE-oXJkBe-oXKmEU-bekLuD-28Pav6F-ZrQFHr-7VFR4G-7VFH7b-7VCubZ-beyKgT-d9Q335-ZyZHtR-2iiDoat-48qmGx-8vUxiK-ddAqdW-aZLu7T">James Gaither/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Chokehold on our flora and fauna</h2>
<p>Currently, the commercially important honeybee is kept mainly on agricultural land. In national parks and reserves, native species are prioritised.</p>
<p>The amount of land set aside for conservation is already <a href="https://vnpa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Completing-Australia%E2%80%99s-National-Reserve-System-of-Protected-Areas.pdf">insufficient</a> to preserve the species and systems we value.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fire-almost-wiped-out-rare-species-in-the-australian-alps-feral-horses-are-finishing-the-job-130584">Fire almost wiped out rare species in the Australian Alps. Feral horses are finishing the job</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Australia’s national parks also suffer from mismanagement of <a href="https://theconversation.com/kangaroos-and-other-herbivores-are-eating-away-at-national-parks-across-australia-122953">grazing</a> by native and introduced animals, and other <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6390/788">activities</a> permitted in parks, such as road development and in some cases, mining. </p>
<p>National parks must be allowed to recover from bushfire damage. Where they are unburned, they must be protected so native plants and animals can recover and recolonise burned areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316620/original/file-20200221-92530-1s7h3hi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316620/original/file-20200221-92530-1s7h3hi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316620/original/file-20200221-92530-1s7h3hi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316620/original/file-20200221-92530-1s7h3hi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316620/original/file-20200221-92530-1s7h3hi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316620/original/file-20200221-92530-1s7h3hi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316620/original/file-20200221-92530-1s7h3hi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">National parks decimated by the bushfires should be allowed to recover.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Daniel Mariuz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Protecting nature and the beekeeping industry</h2>
<p>The demand for commercial beekeeping in national parks is a result of native vegetation being cleared for agriculture in many parts of Australia.</p>
<p>In the short term, one solution is for beekeepers to artificially <a href="https://honeybee.org.au/media-release-times-up-for-bees/">feed</a> their hives with sugar syrup, as is common practise in winter. Thus, they could continue to produce honey and provide commercial pollination services. </p>
<p>While production levels may fall as a result of the reduced feed, and honey may become more expensive, at least consumers would know the product was made without damaging native wildlife and vegetation.</p>
<p>A long-term solution is to increase the area of native vegetation for both biodiversity and commercial beekeeping, by stepping up Australia’s <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/emr.12398">meagre</a> re-vegetation programs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-reduce-fire-risk-and-meet-climate-targets-over-300-scientists-call-for-stronger-land-clearing-laws-113172">To reduce fire risk and meet climate targets, over 300 scientists call for stronger land clearing laws</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Unfortunately, vegetation clearance rates in Australia remain <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/05/global-deforestation-hotspot-3m-hectares-of-australian-forest-to-be-lost-in-15-years">extremely high</a>. </p>
<p>Protecting and enhancing native vegetation would have both commercial and public benefits. Programs like the recently announced <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/reporting/budget/sustaining-future-australian-farming">Agricultural Stewardship Package</a> could be designed, to pay farmers for vegetation protection and revegetation. </p>
<p>Increasing vegetation in our landscapes is an insurance policy that will not only protect biodiversity, but support the honey industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131891/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick O'Connor has received funding from Agrifutures Australia and the Native Vegetation Council of South Australia. Patrick is the national chairperson of Landcare in Australia</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James B. Dorey receives funding from Flinders University, the Linnean Society of NSW, the Royal Society of South Australia, the Field Naturalists Society of South Australia, Society of Australian Systematic Biologists and the Ecological Society of Australia. James B. Dorey is also a member of the Entomological Society of Queensland, the Entomological Society of Australia and the Society of Australian Systematic Biologists.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard V Glatz has received funding from Kangaroo Island Natural Resources, through the Federal Government's National Landcare Program, Smart Farms II grants. He is a Registered Native Vegetation Consultant with the SA Department for Environment & Water, periodically engaged to undertake native vegetation clearance assessments. He is Chief Editor of the journal Austral Entomology and a member of the Australian Entomological Society (AES), the AES Conservation Committee, Royal Society of SA, Weed Management Society of SA and Biosecurity Advisory Committee to the Kangaroo Island NRM Board.</span></em></p>In NSW, honeybees are listed as a key threatening process to biodiversity.Patrick O'Connor, Associate Professor, University of AdelaideJames B. Dorey, PhD Candidate, Flinders UniversityRichard V Glatz, Associate research scientist, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1295352020-01-16T19:02:30Z2020-01-16T19:02:30ZTake care when examining the economic impact of fires. GDP doesn’t tell the full story<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310409/original/file-20200116-181629-1xtqhv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=268%2C32%2C1374%2C746&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It is possible to calculate the impact impact of fires, but not using GDP.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Andrew Brownbilll/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Estimates of the economic damage caused by the bushfires are <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/economic-cost-of-bushfires-estimated-at-2-billion-and-rising-20200106-p53pac.html">rolling in</a>, some of them <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/10/perspectives/australia-fires-cost/index.html">big</a> and some unprecedented, as is the <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/this-is-not-normal/">scale</a> of the fires themselves. </p>
<p>These types of estimates will be refined and used to make – or break – the case for programs to limit the impact of similar disasters in the future. Some will be used to make a case for – or against – action on climate change.</p>
<p>But it’s important they not be done using the conventional measure of gross domestic product (GDP).</p>
<p>GDP measures everything produced in any given period. </p>
<p>It is a good enough measure of material welfare when used to measure the impact of a tourist event or a new mine or factory or something like the national broadband network, but it can be misleading – sometimes grossly misleading – when used to measure the economic impact of a catastrophe or natural disaster. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-gdp-are-there-better-ways-to-measure-well-being-33414">Beyond GDP: are there better ways to measure well-being?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>That’s because it measures the <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/bushfires-crisis-unlikely-to-hit-economic-growth-jp-morgan-20200106-p53p5f">positives</a> brought about the recovery from disasters but leaves out some of the negatives caused by the destruction.</p>
<p>For example:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>building a new house has a positive impact on GDP, even if the old house was burnt down</p></li>
<li><p>a military evacuation has a positive impact on GDP, even though the circumstances that make it necessary are life-threatening and traumatic</p></li>
<li><p>bushfires stimulate GDP by creating more demand for health services, even as the victims suffer from smoke inhalation, burns or post-traumatic stress disorder.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>It is possible to get at the full story</h2>
<p>Economic modelling <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/improving-homeland-security-decisions/economic-consequences-of-terrorism-and-natural-disasters-the-computable-general-equilibrium-approach/A62EAD73E39E5B5715E54C279925D49F#fndtn-information">pioneered in Australia</a>, and used to estimate the impact of <a href="http://www.copsmodels.com/elecpapr/g-256.htm">terrorism</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46467666_Effects_on_the_US_Of_an_H1N1_epidemic_Analysis_with_a_quarterly_CGE_model">epidemics</a> makes it possible to prepare measures of welfare that take account of the costs of disasters.</p>
<p>Among the immediate costs in the first months after a bushfire disaster would be:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the direct cost of fire-fighting</p></li>
<li><p>the cost of temporarily relocating residents</p></li>
<li><p>health costs, such as treatment of burns and respiratory illnesses</p></li>
<li><p>loss of work days associated with firefighting, injuries, illnesses, displacement and loss of life</p></li>
<li><p>a downgrading of consumer confidence</p></li>
<li><p>destruction of assets including homes, farms, businesses and natural resources and the associated disruption of economic activity including tourism, agriculture and housing</p></li>
<li><p>the cost of replacing or rebuilding these assets</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Longer term impacts would derive from:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder leading to negative impacts on quality of life and labour supply</p></li>
<li><p>long term damage to ecosystems, including contamination of water, and extinction or severe loss of animal species including those necessary to agricultural production, such as bees</p></li>
<li><p>reputational damage leading to possible permanent downgrading of tourism activity in affected regions and in Australia more broadly</p></li>
<li><p>potential ongoing reluctance to invest in Australia </p></li>
<li><p>potential increases in cost of living in bushfire prone regions due to increases in insurance costs.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>It involves going beyond GDP</h2>
<p>The longer term impacts of disasters on a nation’s GDP are clearly negative, deriving from a decline in productive capacity (labour, capital and natural resources) which unambiguously detracts from economic welfare. </p>
<p>In the immediate aftermath, expenditure on reconstruction of homes and other assets can add to GDP, but the funding of these activities (whether direct or through insurance) adds to debt and can drag on household consumption, either immediately or in the future. A related measure, <a href="https://data.oecd.org/natincome/gross-national-income.htm">Gross National Income</a> (GNI) takes this into account and is generally a better measure of economic welfare.</p>
<p>Bushfire-induced health expenditure stimulates both GDP and GNI but detracts from welfare.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-costs-approaching-100-billion-the-fires-are-australias-costliest-natural-disaster-129433">With costs approaching $100 billion, the fires are Australia's costliest natural disaster</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Suffering from <a href="https://theconversation.com/disaster-recovery-from-australias-fires-will-be-a-marathon-not-a-sprint-129325">post-traumatic stress disorder</a>, for example, can hardly be considered an improvement in standard of living. </p>
<p>To offset this inappropriate “good news”, it is possible to construct an index of leisure-adjusted GNI which takes into account the downgraded quality of leisure time. </p>
<p>As a starting point for such estimates, the prime minister’s department sets the <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/Value_of_Statistical_Life_guidance_note.pdf">statistical value of a year of life</a> free of injury, disease and disability at A$182,000 (2014 dollars).</p>
<h2>And it depends on where you are</h2>
<p>Aggregated measures like GDP, GNI and leisure-adjusted GNI do not show the distribution of economic impact. </p>
<p>An event that strips a small amount from the incomes of everybody is different from one that decimates just a few regions, yet looks the same in a nationwide measure, so it is important that any economic analysis also looks at regional impacts.</p>
<p>The work is yet to be done, but it is safe to say that the conventional link between GDP and economic welfare (“more is better”) <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/24/metrics-gdp-economic-performance-social-progress">breaks down</a> when assessing tragedies, particularly ones with profound regional impacts. </p>
<p>When campaigning to be US president <a href="https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/the-kennedy-family/robert-f-kennedy/robert-f-kennedy-speeches/remarks-at-the-university-of-kansas-march-18-1968">Bobby Kennedy</a> (John F Kennedy’s brother) said that GDP measures “everything… except that which makes life worthwhile”. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/77IdKFqXbUY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>It’d be wise to bear that in mind when considering the policy response to the bushfires.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/might-the-bushfire-crisis-be-the-turning-point-on-climate-politics-australian-needs-129442">Might the bushfire crisis be the turning point on climate politics Australian needs?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129535/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janine Dixon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>GDP is well suited to many things, but not to measuring the impact of disasters.Janine Dixon, Economist at Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1294322020-01-12T20:14:28Z2020-01-12T20:14:28ZWhat employers need to know: the legal risk of asking staff to work in smokey air<p>Amid thick bushfire smoke in cities including Canberra and Melbourne, employers need to consider their legal obligations.</p>
<p>Some have directed their workers not to turn up in order to avoid to occupational health and safety risks. Among them is the Commonwealth <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-05/nsw-fires-blanket-canberra-in-thick-smoke/11841546">department of home affairs</a> which last week asked most of its staff to stay away from its Canberra headquarters for 48 hours.</p>
<p>Other employers want to know where they stand.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309183/original/file-20200109-138653-1g0zb74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309183/original/file-20200109-138653-1g0zb74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309183/original/file-20200109-138653-1g0zb74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309183/original/file-20200109-138653-1g0zb74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309183/original/file-20200109-138653-1g0zb74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309183/original/file-20200109-138653-1g0zb74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309183/original/file-20200109-138653-1g0zb74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309183/original/file-20200109-138653-1g0zb74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>Each state and territory has its own occupational health and safety laws.<br>
However most line up with the so-called Model Act, intended to harmonise state laws.</p>
<p>Under section 17 it imposes on employers a duty to, so far as is <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/whasa2011218/s17.html">reasonably practicable</a>, ensure health and safety by eliminating or minimising risks. </p>
<p>This employer’s duty applies not only to its employees, but also to other types of workers including independent contractors.</p>
<h2>Meaning of ‘reasonably practicable"</h2>
<p>Under the section 18 of the Model Act, “reasonably practicable” <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/whasa2011218/s18.html">means</a> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>that which is, or was at a particular time, reasonably able to be done in relation to ensuring health and safety, taking into account and weighing up all relevant matters</p>
</blockquote>
<p>By themselves, these words aren’t much of a guide, so the Act includes examples of “relevant matters”, among them:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the likelihood of a hazard or risk occurring</p></li>
<li><p>the degree of harm that might result</p></li>
<li><p>what the employer knows or ought reasonably know about the hazard or risk, and ways of eliminating or minimising hazard or risk</p></li>
<li><p>the availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or reduce hazard or risk</p></li>
<li><p>the cost associated with available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk, including whether the cost is grossly disproportionate to the risk</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Meaning of 'likelihood’</h2>
<p>Employers should make themselves aware of the risk of an air quality hazard.<br>
This can be achieved by checking the most up to date air quality index in the location on an environment protection authority website:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/">NSW</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/airwatch">Victoria</a></p>
<p><a href="https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/air-quality/">Queensland</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.epa.sa.gov.au/data_and_publications/air_quality_monitoring">South Australia</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.der.wa.gov.au/your-environment/air/air-quality-index">Western Australia</a></p>
<p><a href="https://epa.tas.gov.au/epa/air/monitoring-air-pollution/real-time-air-quality-data-for-tasmania">Tasmania</a></p>
<p><a href="http://ntepa.webhop.net/NTEPA/Default.ltr.aspx">Northern Territory</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.health.act.gov.au/about-our-health-system/population-health/environmental-monitoring/monitoring-and-regulating-air">Australian Capital Territory</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Workers who work outdoors are more likely to be subject to harmful effects of bushfire smoke than indoor workers. </p>
<p>They are more likely to experience irritation to their airways, nose and eyes. </p>
<p>They might also experience low visibility which might make their work more dangerous. </p>
<p>The machines they operate could also be impacted by the smoke and dust in a way which would make operating them more dangerous.</p>
<p>Special measures should be taken to protect workers who work outdoors, such as providing them with face masks or rescheduling their work.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ENk1gWbsbL4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Smoke emissions from the Australian bushfires from 1 December 2019 to 4 January 2020.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Meaning of ‘degree of harm’</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309230/original/file-20200109-80107-gc35i9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309230/original/file-20200109-80107-gc35i9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/309230/original/file-20200109-80107-gc35i9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309230/original/file-20200109-80107-gc35i9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309230/original/file-20200109-80107-gc35i9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309230/original/file-20200109-80107-gc35i9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309230/original/file-20200109-80107-gc35i9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/309230/original/file-20200109-80107-gc35i9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Asthma suffers might be at greater risk.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is certainly arguable the likelihood of harm for indoor workers is much lower, especially if the air quality in their workplace is the same or even better than the air quality in their homes. </p>
<p>Employers should have up-to-date information about the health of their workers, especially those workers who have pre-existing conditions that might predispose them to harm from smoke. </p>
<p>Among these would be workers who have asthma or other respiratory disorders.</p>
<p>Special steps should be taken to protect them, taking into account their pre-existing conditions.</p>
<h2>Meaning of ‘reasonably ought to know’</h2>
<p>Employers should be checking up-to-date information on an environment protection authority website and on the website of <a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/media-centre/news/bushfires-and-air-pollution">Safe Work Australia</a>.</p>
<p>It’s very likely law enforcers will presume the information on these websites constitute information the employer ought to have known in determining the appropriate action to take. </p>
<p>For example, it would be difficult for an employer to argue they didn’t know P2 rated face masks should be provided to workers when the Safe Work Australia website <a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/media-centre/news/bushfires-and-air-pollution">specifically mentions them</a> as an appropriate way of eliminating or reducing air quality hazards.</p>
<h2>Meaning of ‘availability of ways to reduce risk’</h2>
<p>Safe Work Australia says employers should have in place <a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/topic/weather#working-in-air-pollution">measures</a> to manage the risks to health and safety of working outdoors when air quality is reduced, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>working indoors (where possible)</p></li>
<li><p>rescheduling outdoor work until conditions improve</p></li>
<li><p>ensuring buildings and equipment are functioning correctly and have not been affected by dust or debris</p></li>
<li><p>cleaning dust and debris off outdoor surfaces</p></li>
<li><p>providing personal protective equipment such as eye protection and correctly fitted P2-rated face masks.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Meaning of ‘cost of minimising hazard’</h2>
<p>The cost of elimination or minimising hazard will be higher for some measures than others. </p>
<p>For example, it might cost more to direct workers to stay home than to provide face masks. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-buildings-arent-made-to-keep-out-bushfire-smoke-heres-what-you-can-do-129367">Our buildings aren't made to keep out bushfire smoke. Here's what you can do</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These costs need to be weighed up against the likelihood and degree of potential harm. </p>
<p>If the likelihood and degree of harm is high, it’s unlikely law enforcers will be particularly sympathetic to arguments about cost.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129432/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Shi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Employers obligations are set out clearly. What’s important is what they “know or reasonably ought to know”.Elizabeth Shi, Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1293672020-01-08T18:51:33Z2020-01-08T18:51:33ZOur buildings aren’t made to keep out bushfire smoke. Here’s what you can do<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308928/original/file-20200108-107209-n5ewvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=264%2C84%2C2928%2C1427&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">On many days Canberra has the worst air quality of any major international city. Even in the best buildings it's not good.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">NARENDRA SHRESTHA/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In early December 2019, a Sheffield Shield cricket match between NSW and Queensland was played in bushfire smoke so thick that the ball was at times <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-10/sydney-smoke-haze-mars-nsw-sheffield-shield-win-over-queensland/11786280">invisible to the spectators</a>.</p>
<p>Since then, the rest of us have become far more aware of the hazards of bushfire smoke, and authorities have become more active in reminding us how dangerous it can be, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2019-11-19/bushfire-smoke-health-managing-risks/11699894">especially during exercise</a>. A standard piece of advice is to “spend more time indoors”. </p>
<p>But does it work?</p>
<p>Up until this year, with bushfire smoke lasting only a few days, it was good advice, especially for buildings that rely on recirculated and filtered mechanical ventilation complying with Australian Standard <a href="https://infostore.saiglobal.com/en-au/Standards/AS-1668-2-2012-120207_SAIG_AS_AS_251941/">1668 Part 2</a>. </p>
<p>These buildings include shopping malls, cinemas, hospitals, larger offices and some of the buildings in some universities.</p>
<h2>It’s fine in cinemas, for a while…</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, if smoke is particularly thick or goes on for more than a few days, these systems get overwhelmed, which is why smoke detectors in many commercial and institutional buildings have been setting off fire alarms and why the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra was <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/galleries-grapple-with-climate-change-and-unprecedented-closures-20200106-p53p7r.html">closed</a> on Sunday and Monday. </p>
<p>Most houses or apartments are designed to be “naturally ventilated” under the <a href="https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/ncc-online/NCC">National Construction Code</a>, which means every habitable room has an openable window or a vent. </p>
<p>Closing the windows, vents and doors will reduce the “air change rate”, which is the number of times an hour the air in the room is replaced by outside air.</p>
<h2>Less fine in homes</h2>
<p>Regrettably, unless there is no wind, CSIRO research suggests most Australian houses are <a href="https://research.csiro.au/energyrating/wp-content/uploads/sites/74/2016/05/House-Energy-Efficiency-Inspect-Proj.pdf">quite leaky</a> by international standards, mainly because of leaky windows and doors. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308916/original/file-20200107-107209-1vwrjkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308916/original/file-20200107-107209-1vwrjkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=971&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308916/original/file-20200107-107209-1vwrjkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=971&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308916/original/file-20200107-107209-1vwrjkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=971&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308916/original/file-20200107-107209-1vwrjkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1220&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308916/original/file-20200107-107209-1vwrjkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1220&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308916/original/file-20200107-107209-1vwrjkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1220&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wall ventilator.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me256Tb1zq8">Source: GIYGreenItYourself</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Houses and apartments built before 1970 are the worst. Many have fixed ventilators just below the ceiling level, a hangover from regulations designed to ensure gas lighting did not cause asphyxiation. </p>
<p>These ventilators are now unnecessary and can be safely blocked off. </p>
<p>In normal times some leakage is not a bad thing, as it offers protection against internal air pollution from volatile organic compounds in furniture and building materials and cooking, smoking and heating. </p>
<p>But these are not normal times.</p>
<p>The length and severity of bushfire smoke appears to be <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/health-impacts-of-bushfires-won-t-be-known-for-years-experts-say-20200106-p53p87.html">unprecedented</a>. </p>
<p>With bushfire smoke persisting for days or weeks, the standard advice to be “indoors” is less effective. While houses and apartments might be useful for keeping smoke out for a few days or so, they become less effective over time, depending on how leaky they are. </p>
<h2>Take care</h2>
<p>Before embarking on a campaign to seal leaks with draft stripping and duct tape, please ensure your that your range hood is vented directly to outside (preferably with an automatic flap) that if you smoke you do it outside, and that your furniture and fabrics are low in <a href="https://soe.environment.gov.au/theme/ambient-air-quality/topic/2016/volatile-organic-compounds">volatile organic compounds</a>, which arechemicals that release vapor at room temperature. </p>
<p>If your house is sealed up, do not use a gas cooker without an externally vented range hood or use an unflued gas heater at any time. </p>
<p>Ensure your vacuum cleaner has a <a href="https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/laundry-and-cleaning/vacuum-cleaners/articles/hepa-and-asthma">HEPA</a> (high-efficiency particulate air) filter. </p>
<p>Remember duct tape or masking tape is likely to be very difficult to remove if you leave it on for more than a few days and may damage painted surfaces.</p>
<h2>Air conditioners aren’t much help</h2>
<p>Even if your house is well sealed, it’s likely the air in it will become similar in quality to the air outside over a period of several days. While the air change rate in your house might be low, it will not be zero. </p>
<p>A recirculating air conditioner, such as a split system, will make you cooler but most domestic air conditioning filters are not capable of removing the very small particles in bushfire smoke – the ones that most make it dangerous. </p>
<p>Evaporative air conditioners or window mounted air conditioners that draw air in from outside will actually make indoor conditions worse.</p>
<p>Some recirculating air purifier systems will remove bushfire smoke, but they can be expensive to buy and run. </p>
<h2>Air purifiers can help, but they’re expensive</h2>
<p>To be effective against bushfire smoke, the air purifier needs to be fitted with a HEPA filter.</p>
<p>The performance of many purifiers is less than stellar, but a <a href="https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/cooling/air-purifiers/review-and-compare/air-purifiers">CHOICE survey</a> published just before Christmas is a useful starting point. </p>
<p>CHOICE is preparing a bigger test of more models which it will publish in March 2020. </p>
<p>It brought forward the test of six of them because of the fires.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-face-masks-to-air-purifiers-what-actually-works-to-protect-us-from-bushfire-smoke-128633">From face masks to air purifiers: what actually works to protect us from bushfire smoke?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>All six remove bushfire smoke particles with various degrees of efficiency, but their coverage area is limited. The <a href="https://www.choice.com.au/products/home-and-living/cooling/air-purifiers/blueair-205-air-purifier">Blueair 205</a> performed the best. </p>
<p>For people in an at-risk group, the use of an air purifier in a sealed-up house or apartment should help. </p>
<p>The only certain solution for someone suffering from smoke or concerned about its long-term impacts is to go to a building that has a recirculating HEPA filtered air conditioning system or move to a location where the air quality is better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129367/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Hanmer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Plugging ventilation holes in walls helps, but there are dangers.Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Lecturer in Architecture, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1294452020-01-07T06:53:45Z2020-01-07T06:53:45ZHow to donate to Australian bushfire relief: give money, watch for scams and think long term<p>The devastation of the Australian bushfires has generated an <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/bushfire-relief-how-you-can-help-those-in-need/news-story/a0476ac3538b8c373f281ea6be204421">outpouring of generosity</a> amongst Australians. </p>
<p>We have been giving directly to charities such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and others working on the ground to support survivors. Many of us have contributed to appeals such as <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/aussies-rally-around-celeste-barbers-staggering-fire-fundraiser/news-story/b7481dce04dade93f3719bc0acac9e59">Celeste Barber’s</a>, which, at the time of writing, has raised A$42 million for the NSW Rural Fire Service.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308730/original/file-20200107-123373-1x8mj6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308730/original/file-20200107-123373-1x8mj6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308730/original/file-20200107-123373-1x8mj6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308730/original/file-20200107-123373-1x8mj6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308730/original/file-20200107-123373-1x8mj6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308730/original/file-20200107-123373-1x8mj6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308730/original/file-20200107-123373-1x8mj6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308730/original/file-20200107-123373-1x8mj6e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At the time of writing, celebrity Celeste Barber had raised $42 million.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Facebook</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Wealthy Australians, like the <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/packers-crown-donate-extra-4-million-for-bushfire-relief-efforts-20200106-p53pcm.html">Packer</a>, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/billionaire-philanthropists-donate-1m-to-bushfire-emergency-response-20191227-p53n4b.html">Gandel</a> and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/heartbreaking-kylie-minogue-s-family-donates-500-000-to-bushfire-appeal-20200107-p53pdc.html">Minogue</a> families, have also made large commitments, as have many businesses.</p>
<p>The fact that so many of us have been reaching into our pockets during this difficult time is not surprising. Australia is the fourth most generous nation in the world, according to the most recent edition of the <a href="https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/publications/2019-publications/caf-world-giving-index-10th-edition">World Giving Index</a> and emergency relief is a <a href="https://www.communitybusinesspartnership.gov.au/about/research-projects/giving-australia-2016/">common cause</a> to which we give.</p>
<p>But it’s worth thinking carefully about how to give, to ensure you’re not wasting your contribution or inadvertently making things worse. </p>
<h2>Watch out for scammers</h2>
<p>One thing to be mindful of during times like these, is that unfortunately some people may seek to prey on the generosity of others. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/update/bushfires-and-scams">issued a warning </a>about fundraising scams associated with the bushfires. </p>
<p>If you aren’t sure about an organisation that you’ve been approached by, you can always check whether they’re a registered charity using the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission’s online <a href="https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity">register</a>. </p>
<p>It lists all charities registered in Australia, and details their operations, finance and governance.</p>
<h2>Money usually trumps everything else</h2>
<p>Generally, it’s best to give money. The organisations you give it to can then decide how to use it best.</p>
<p>We may be tempted to give goods like blankets or clothes, but organisations often get overwhelmed by donations of goods. </p>
<p>The idea of donating while also clearing out unused items at home may seem tempting but many organisations don’t have the resources to sort through donations. Often, the goods donated just aren’t fit for use.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1213703278699016193"}"></div></p>
<p><a href="https://dhs.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/1893/management-of-donated-goods.pdf">Research</a> by the federal and South Australian governments examined this problem, saying of the 2009 Victorian bushfires:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Victorian Bushfires resulted in the donation of in excess of 40,000 pallets of goods from across Australia that took up more than 50,000 square metres of storage space. The costs for managing these donations i.e. three central warehouses, five regional distribution points, approximately 35 paid staff, material handling equipment and transport costs to distribute the material aid, has amounted to over 8 million dollars.</p>
<p>In addition, volunteer numbers reached 1,500 during the first three months provided through over 40 store fronts. Resources in the fire affected areas immediately after the event were severely stretched as a result of material aid arriving without warning and without adequate resources to sort, store, handle
and distribute.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The report highlighted how this is a consistent problem during disasters, leading to the development of the <a href="https://dhs.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/1894/national-guidelines-for-managing-donated-goods.pdf">National Guidelines for Managing Donated Goods</a>. These guidelines reinforce the point that donating money is the preferred way to help out during a disaster.</p>
<p>If specific requests are made for <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/northcoast/programs/breakfast/koalas-need-you-to-help-make-them-mittens-and-give-them-blankets/11714410">certain goods</a>, however, then you can respond by donating accordingly. The charity <a href="http://www.givit.org.au/disasters">Givit</a> acts as a broker that facilitates the donations of goods that meet the needs of charities and those they are seeking to help.</p>
<p>Always make sure that what you donate is of reasonable quality. It’s important not to use donation appeals an excuse to clean out items that probably should go in the rubbish or recycling bin.</p>
<h2>Donations after the bushfires are also important</h2>
<p>We’re facing a long and hot summer, with the prospect of ongoing bushfires. At some stage, they will subside and with them the appeals for donations will also end.</p>
<p>But it’s important to remember that even once the immediate crisis has passed, rebuilding after a disaster takes a long time and requires considerable resources. </p>
<p>Governments play an important part but there is also a role for philanthropy both large and small. For example, the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal has a <a href="https://www.frrr.org.au/cb_pages/supporting_bushfire-affected_communities.php">Disaster Resilience and Recovery Fund</a> which makes grants to local not-for-profit groups for community-led projects that address the most pressing needs that emerge 12-18 months after a disaster.</p>
<h2>The bigger picture</h2>
<p>Supporting the immediate response and rebuilding efforts is vital, but it’s also important to consider how as a nation we collectively address the factors which are increasing bushfire risk. </p>
<p>Climate change is <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-bringing-a-new-world-of-bushfires-123261">increasing the risk</a> that we will see more frequent and intense bushfires.</p>
<p>Charities provide vital support to those in need during times of crisis. But they also have an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1037969X1504000312">important advocacy role</a> putting pressure on governments and businesses to change policies and practices.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-the-limits-to-charities-advancing-political-causes-71466">Explainer: what are the limits to charities advancing political causes?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There are many environmental charities doing exactly this, to push Australia toward a more comprehensive response to climate change. </p>
<p>So it’s also worth thinking about how your donation can help support the policy change needed to address climate change and to mitigate the risks associated with it – including more bushfires.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129445/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Krystian Seibert is a member of the Australian Conservation Foundation.</span></em></p>It’s worth thinking carefully about how to give, to ensure you’re not wasting your contribution or inadvertently making things worse.Krystian Seibert, Industry Fellow, Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1293262020-01-06T18:54:39Z2020-01-06T18:54:39ZAustralia can expect far more fire catastrophes. A proper disaster plan is worth paying for<p>Australia is in the midst of inconceivably bad bushfires. The death toll is rising, thousands of buildings have been destroyed and whole communities displaced. This scale is like nothing before, and our national response must be like nothing that has come before.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday somewhat acknowledged the need for unprecedented action. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZgchUaoYqw">took the extraordinary step</a> of calling up 3,000 Australian Defence Force reservists and mobilising navy ships and military bases to aid the emergency response. This has never before happened in Australia at this scale.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/disaster-recovery-from-australias-fires-will-be-a-marathon-not-a-sprint-129325">Disaster recovery from Australia's fires will be a marathon, not a sprint</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But it’s not enough. As this horrific summer of disaster continues to unfold in coming weeks, we clearly need to overhaul our emergency management plan with a workforce that’s large, nationally mobile, fully funded, and paid – rather than using under-resourced volunteers. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.unisdr.org/we/advocate/climate-change">The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction</a> says weather and climate related disasters have more than doubled over the last 40 years. </p>
<p>Although expensive, the cost of not acting on disaster risk, planning and preparation will be greatly outstripped by the cost of future climate and weather catastrophes. </p>
<h2>Our disaster management system needs upgrading</h2>
<p>The states and territories are primarily responsible for disaster preparedness and response. Typically, the federal government has no direct responsibility, but lends a hand when asked through a variety of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13642987.2014.889391">programs, policies and initiatives</a>.</p>
<p>This may have worked in the past. But with ever larger and more complex disasters, these arrangements are no longer fit for purpose.</p>
<p>Our national emergency management workforce is largely made up of volunteers, who are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/12/firies-and-fury-exhausted-volunteers-decry-pms-claim-they-want-to-be-there">stretched to the bone, exhausted and some say, under-resourced</a>. </p>
<p>What’s more, experts led by former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/full-list-of-fire-and-emergency-chiefs-recommendations-to-federal-government/">have called for</a> significant changes in Australia’s disaster management preparedness and response. They’ve signalled the need for new resources, policies and processes to tackle more frequent and complex disasters. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-bringing-a-new-world-of-bushfires-123261">Climate change is bringing a new world of bushfires</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We’ve also seen how consultation and collaboration between the Commonwealth and states are not working smoothly. </p>
<p>NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/05/australia-fires-rfs-commissioner-not-told-of-scott-morrisons-call-up-of-adf-reserve">only learned</a> that Defence reservists would be deployed when it was reported in the media. And it <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-06/nsw-bushfires-two-people-unaccounted-for-says-rfs/11843060">wasn’t immediately clear</a> how new reservists would be integrated into existing response activities. </p>
<h2>Finding a bipartisan way forward</h2>
<p>The decade-long ideological battle between the left and right of Australian politics has paralysed climate policy development. This cannot continue.</p>
<p>Well-funded disaster preparedness and response inevitably builds resilience to climate change and extreme weather events like bushfires. This is something both sides of politics agree on – in fact, it was noted in the federal government’s own <a href="https://www.aidr.org.au/media/6682/national-resilience-taskforce-profiling-australias-vulnerability.pdf">recent report</a> profiling our vulnerability to disasters and climate change. </p>
<p>Aside from needing bipartisanship, an overhaul of Australia’s disaster management will require money. While we’re lucky to have a dedicated, paid and exceptional set of state and territory disaster and emergency management agencies such as the NSW Rural Fire Service, most heavy lifting is done by agency volunteers. </p>
<p>But with fire seasons starting earlier and lasting longer, we can no longer rely for months at a time on volunteers who must also work, pay their bills and feed their families.</p>
<p>We need a larger, paid, trained, professional emergency management workforce. I <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-a-national-crisis-plan-and-not-just-for-bushfires-128781">reject claims</a> that such a workforce would stand idle most of the year. Severe weather seasons are starting earlier and lasting longer, so these professionals will be busy.</p>
<p>The workforce could be divided in to areas of expertise to tackle specific disaster types, and focus on different aspects of the disaster cycle such as prevention and preparation. These continue year-round. </p>
<p>Alternatively, volunteers could be compensated through direct payments for lost income, tax offsets for volunteers and their employers, or rent or mortgage assistance.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-bushfires-are-horrendous-but-expect-cyclones-floods-and-heatwaves-too-129328">The bushfires are horrendous, but expect cyclones, floods and heatwaves too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>What’s more, a new national disaster management approach must intersect with state and local governments to help reduce disaster risk. </p>
<p>These might include <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/emergency/files/national-disaster-risk-reduction-framework.pdf">contributing to land-use zoning plans</a>, building design and standards for construction in at-risk areas, or building partnerships with the private sector.</p>
<h2>Funding disaster preparedness</h2>
<p>All this will cost money. Australia must accept that taxpayers will pay for future disaster preparedness, response and recovery. We need a bucket of cash for when disasters strike. Scott Morrison <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/morrison-government-announces-2-billion-for-national-bushfire-recovery-fund/news-story/5ac5d03a578c09ec8cae55f859d67fa9">yesterday announced</a> A$2 billion for recovery, but disaster funds should be ongoing.</p>
<p>This would be no different to the national Medical Future Research Fund – a A$20 billion fund to focus on solving nationally important medical issues <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/medical-research-future-fund/about-the-mrff/mrff-funding-process">funded through savings from the health budget</a>. </p>
<p>There are several ways the money could be gathered. Commonwealth, state and territory governments could rethink their insistence on achieving budget surpluses, and instead spend money on a disaster fund. A “disaster levy” could be applied to household rates bills, a tax on carbon introduced, or planned tax cuts for middle and high income earners abandoned.</p>
<p>The public could also contribute to the fund directly. The ABC’s recent Australia Talks survey found on average, Australians would be willing to chip in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-17/what-youd-spend-to-halt-climate-change-and-what-you-could-get/11784704">A$200 each per year</a> to pay for adaptation to climate change. If every Australian contributed, there’s another A$5 billion per year for the fund.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-can-still-picture-the-faces-black-saturday-firefighters-want-you-to-listen-to-them-not-call-them-heroes-128632">'I can still picture the faces': Black Saturday firefighters want you to listen to them, not call them 'heroes'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Future disaster management will require Australia to step up. It means making hard choices about what we want the future to be like, how we’ll pay for that, and what level of risk we are prepared to tolerate. It also means demanding that our leaders deliver meaningful climate change adaptation, including disaster planning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129326/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dale Dominey-Howes receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Emergency Management Program and the Global Resilience Partnership. </span></em></p>As this horrific summer of disaster continues to unfold in coming weeks, we need to overhaul our emergency management plan.Dale Dominey-Howes, Professor of Hazards and Disaster Risk Sciences, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1293022020-01-05T18:48:22Z2020-01-05T18:48:22ZMaking sense of Australia’s bushfire crisis means asking hard questions – and listening to the answers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308510/original/file-20200105-11904-tr74t9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C0%2C4755%2C3182&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When the immediate threat of this bushfire crisis passes, many questions will remain. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Lewins/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bushfires plunder lives and landscapes in myriad ways, but they often start the same way. A bright morning suddenly turns to night. Ash flutters down from the sky, propelled ahead of the roaring fire front. An awful red glow slinks over the horizon.</p>
<p>When I awoke in the NSW south coast town of Bermagui on the last day of 2019, I should have twigged straight away. At 8am the sky was a gruesome orange-black, the surrounding bush freakishly quiet. Our mobile phones had no signal. Outside, my car was coated in soot.</p>
<p>We knew fires were burning more than 100km up the coast at Batemans Bay, but Bermagui had seemed a safe distance away. Suddenly, it wasn’t.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1211753455460597760"}"></div></p>
<p>Fire was bearing down on the seaside town, <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6561329/residents-evacuate-to-beaches-as-south-coast-fires-pose-serious-threat/">burning so fiercely</a> it created its own thunderstorm. Residents evacuated to the beach after emergency text messages at 4am, but with our phone service down we’d slept on, oblivious. When my partner and I woke and worked out what was happening, we too bundled our bewildered young son into the car and fled.</p>
<p>Of course amid the devastation wrought this fire season, a disrupted holiday is nothing to complain about. Bushfires have decimated huge swathes of Australia this fire season, taking with them, at the time of writing, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/04/australia-fires-death-toll-rises-and-six-people-missing-as-pm-calls-in-military">23 lives</a> and more than 1500 homes. </p>
<p>Thousands of holidaymakers in NSW and Victoria were <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/families-stuck-in-mallacoota-after-navy-ships-discouraged-children-under-5-20200104-p53otm.html">stranded for days</a> in towns with <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/australias-apocalyptic-bushfire-towns-go-into-panic-stations-as-supermarket-shelves-are-cleared-petrol-stations-run-dry-water-supplies-are-contaminated-and-communities-struggle-without-power/ar-BBYwcd7">dwindling food</a> and <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6564632/fuel-shortages-slowing-bushfire-evacuees/?cs=14231">fuel </a>supplies. Some were forced to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/01/malua-bay-fire-survivors-tell-how-1000-people-lived-through-a-night-of-flames-on-nsw-beach">shelter on beaches</a>, dodging embers and watching flames creep ever closer. And we cannot forget the animals – <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/01/03/a-statement-about-the-480-million-animals-killed-in-nsw-bushfire.html">millions have been killed</a> this fire season, or will soon die from lack of food or shelter.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308511/original/file-20200105-11951-1ss7i8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308511/original/file-20200105-11951-1ss7i8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308511/original/file-20200105-11951-1ss7i8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308511/original/file-20200105-11951-1ss7i8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308511/original/file-20200105-11951-1ss7i8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308511/original/file-20200105-11951-1ss7i8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308511/original/file-20200105-11951-1ss7i8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Firefighters battle flames encroaching on properties near Termeil on the NSW south coast, where lives and homes have been lost.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Lewins/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-bushfire-and-holiday-seasons-converge-it-may-be-time-to-say-goodbye-to-the-typical-australian-summer-holiday-129337">As bushfire and holiday seasons converge, it may be time to say goodbye to the typical Australian summer holiday</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>With all roads out of Bermagui closed, we spent New Year’s Eve at a local club hastily converted into an evacuation centre. Many evacuees were from the nearby fire-hit town of Cobargo. Some knew the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-31/father-and-son-patrick-and-robert-salway-die-in-cobargo-bushfire/11835194">father and son</a> who died after staying to defend their property. Many would presumably soon discover their own homes were gone. They watched, hands over their mouths, as the club’s giant plasma screens beamed images of their once-charming town, now a jumble of rubble and corrugated iron.</p>
<p>We lay our doonas down between rows of poker machines and lined up for dinner with hundreds of other evacuees. Food supplies in the town had already run short – the shelves of the local Woolworths were all but empty. To feed the hordes, volunteers began rationing dinner portions to just half a sausage and a slice of bread. They had no idea where tomorrow’s meals would come from.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308514/original/file-20200105-11946-on1wvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308514/original/file-20200105-11946-on1wvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308514/original/file-20200105-11946-on1wvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308514/original/file-20200105-11946-on1wvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308514/original/file-20200105-11946-on1wvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308514/original/file-20200105-11946-on1wvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308514/original/file-20200105-11946-on1wvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Empty shelves at Woolworths’ Bermagui on the morning of December 31, after residents were evacuated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nicole Hasham</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>All this raises inevitable questions. To what extent is climate change driving these fires, and how much of that is Australia’s fault? Do we need a permanent, paid rural fire-fighting force to deal with this “new normal”? Are our fuel, food and communications systems resilient enough to cope with these disasters? And how do we deal with the deep anxiety these fires provoke, on both a personal and societal level?</p>
<p>Over the coming days and weeks, The Conversation will examine the tough issues emerging from this crisis. Our authors, experts in the field, will cut through the political spin and information barrage to help you understand this national disaster, and what it means for our future. </p>
<p>Today, the University of Tasmania’s David Bowman examines whether it’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-bushfire-and-holiday-seasons-converge-it-may-be-time-to-say-goodbye-to-the-typical-australian-summer-holiday-129337">time to ditch the traditional summer holiday</a>, when thousands of people head to bushy areas in peak bushfire season. And while the fires absorb our attention, Monash University’s Neville Nicholls <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-bushfires-are-horrendous-but-expect-cyclones-floods-and-heatwaves-too-129328">reminds us</a> that cyclones, floods and heatwaves are also likely this summer. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308512/original/file-20200105-11929-1o23zqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308512/original/file-20200105-11929-1o23zqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308512/original/file-20200105-11929-1o23zqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308512/original/file-20200105-11929-1o23zqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308512/original/file-20200105-11929-1o23zqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308512/original/file-20200105-11929-1o23zqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308512/original/file-20200105-11929-1o23zqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The aftermath of fires at Cobargo, near Bermagui, where buildings were destroyed and two men died.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sean Davey</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On New Year’s Day, the wind having blown the fires away from Bermagui, officials opened a road out. They warned us to leave before conditions changed again. We had just under half a tank of diesel, and neither Bermagui nor the next town, Tarthra, had supplies. We drove on. No diesel at Bega either, until a local told us of a truck station on the outskirts of town where we filled up.</p>
<p>The trip home was slow and smoky, and phone reception patchy. We tried to buy a paper map in case of detours, but no service stations stocked them. It struck me how vulnerable we are to technology and transport systems that can so easily fail us.</p>
<p>Our three-year-old son grasped little of what was happening. I suggested a game of I-Spy, but it was soon abandoned – the smoke haze meant there was nothing much to see. We drove through blackened landscapes where sheep wandered paddocks with the wool burnt off their backs. My son, sensing the mood, asked why his dad and I were so quiet.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308515/original/file-20200105-11900-15npdpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308515/original/file-20200105-11900-15npdpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308515/original/file-20200105-11900-15npdpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308515/original/file-20200105-11900-15npdpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308515/original/file-20200105-11900-15npdpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308515/original/file-20200105-11900-15npdpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308515/original/file-20200105-11900-15npdpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Smoke haze in Canberra from the South Coast bushfires has pushed air quality to extremely hazardous levels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lucas Coch/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the days after we arrived back in Canberra, air quality was more than <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6562383/air-quality-in-parts-of-canberra-20-times-above-hazardous-level/">20 times above hazardous levels.</a>
Shops and swimming pools were closed, and mail deliveries were cancelled. A woman reportedly died from respiratory distress after exiting a plane to a tarmac filled with smoke. Babies were <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/ginarushton/baby-delivery-canberra-bushfire-smoke">born into smoke-filled hospital theatres</a>; their parents despaired at what the future holds.</p>
<p>When the immediate threat of these fires has passed, many bigger questions will remain. The Conversation will continue to bring you the responsible, evidence-based journalism you need to be properly informed. Thank you for your continued support.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-monitor-the-bushfires-raging-across-australia-129298">How to monitor the bushfires raging across Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129302/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
We escaped through blackened landscapes where sheep wandered paddocks with the wool burnt off their backs. My three-year-old son, sensing the mood, asked why his dad and I were so quiet.Nicole Hasham, Energy + Environment EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1293372020-01-05T02:08:15Z2020-01-05T02:08:15ZAs bushfire and holiday seasons converge, it may be time to say goodbye to the typical Australian summer holiday<p>For 40 years I have studied bushfires in Australia. It has been my life’s work to try to better understand Australian landscapes and the interaction of humans and landscape fire. </p>
<p>As we contemplate a future where catastrophes like the one currently engulfing Australia become increasingly frequent, there’s an idea to which I keep returning: maybe it’s time to say goodbye to the typical summer Australian holiday. </p>
<p>Perhaps it’s time to rearrange Australian calendar and reschedule the peak holiday period to March or April, instead of December and January. </p>
<p>It’s easy to dismiss this idea as stupid but that’s the nature of adaptation. Things that once seemed absurd will now need serious consideration. </p>
<p>What’s truly absurd is the business-as-usual approach that sees thousands of holidaymakers heading directly into forests and national parks right in the middle of peak bushfire season.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-living-with-fire-and-facing-our-fears-128093">Friday essay: living with fire and facing our fears</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>All of the indications are that we are galloping into changing fire regimes. We can certainly see that with what’s occurred in the Australian alps (the snow country in southeastern Australia, near Mount Kosciuszko). There were incredibly intense fires there <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/fires-fanned-by-worst-imaginable-conditions-20030131-gdg702.html">around the early 2000s</a> and now those areas are re-burning. </p>
<p>To me, as a fire researcher, that’s an astonishing thought. </p>
<p>Yes, there have been very large fires in the past but they weren’t followed up with yet more very large fires a mere 15 years later. Normally, you’d be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gcb.12433">expecting</a> a gap of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/geb.12484">50 or 100 years</a>. So the ecology is telling us that we are seeing the intervals between the fires shrinking. That is a really big warning sign.</p>
<p>And this increasingly frequent fire activity is completely consistent with what climate modelling was <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/WF/WF13126">suggesting</a>. The whole system is moving to a world that is hotter, drier, and with more frequent fire activity. It’s what was <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/adaptation/publications/fire-regimes">forecast</a> and it’s what is now happening.</p>
<h2>Big holidays in peak fire season</h2>
<p>One of the great exacerbating factors of this crisis is the fact that it’s occurring in a holiday period. It makes things incredibly difficult for emergency management. The fact is that it would be a lot easier for firefighters to focus on stemming fires if they didn’t also have to manage mass evacuations, and deal with populations that are dispersed and far from home. </p>
<p>Scheduling the major Australian holiday at the same time as bushfire season also makes things extremely difficult for the enterprises that depend on the holiday trade. You need certainty to run a business and timing the major annual Australian holiday period with bushfire season strips certainty away from these business owners. </p>
<p>It’s also really terrible for holidaymakers themselves. People are in desperate need of a break, to spend time with family. Instead of returning to work rested and re-energised, many will be stressed, tired, perhaps even traumatised. (And let’s not forget the firefighters themselves, also denied a break with friends and family over the holidays).</p>
<p>And having the major holiday right in the middle of bushfire season also means that many people are denied a chance to experience national parks, as authorities close them off to reduce risk. </p>
<h2>Adaptation means change, and change is hard</h2>
<p>The old idea was that we can head off the crisis by reducing our emissions through decarbonisation. We had an opportunity to do that and we didn’t take it. We still have to decarbonise but now we also have to adapt. </p>
<p>And the sort of adaptation needed is not just about infrastructure, it’s also about the way we shape our lifestyle, our culture and traditions. </p>
<p>Climate change adaptation will nearly always be met with political, social and cultural resistance. It is not easy. But something like completely rearranging the Australian calendar around increased risks – it’s not even the biggest change required of us. </p>
<p>Some of the other things we are going to have to do will at first seem absurd, will be unbelievably painful economically and will require major adjustments. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-monitor-the-bushfires-raging-across-australia-129298">How to monitor the bushfires raging across Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There’s going to need to be a systematic change in behaviour and lifestyle as we adapt. </p>
<p>This crisis occurring in peak holiday time is highlighting the fact that the assumptions of normality we have got are being challenged by climate change. </p>
<p>It is confronting, but adaptation also brings with it great benefits – less loss of life, greater certainty and opportunity for businesses and holidaymakers, and smoother handling of fire crises as they emerge. </p>
<p>We need to put some serious thought into what future life will be like under climate change. Perhaps shifting peak holiday season to the cooler months is the place to start.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129337/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Bowman receives funding to study fire ecology and management from the Australian Research Council (ARC) , the NSW Bushfire Risk Management Research Hub, Bushfire and Natural Hazard CRC, and the Tasmanian Government Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment.</span></em></p>Sending holidaymakers directly into forests and national parks right in the middle of peak bushfire season is madness.David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.