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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

Actions taken

Objective

To develop scientific, quantitative bushfire hazard assessments on which to base land use and development planning decisions for bushfire prone areas.

Recommendation

It is recommended the Department of Environment and Land Management and the Tasmanian Fire Service develop a geographic information system (GIS) program. The programme should have the capacity to integrate information on vegetation types, fuel accumulation characteristics, topography and combustion physics algorithms to produce maps showing fire intensity potential which can be used in planning schemes to control residential use and development in bushfire prone areas. Such a programme would use available GIS technology and Land Information System Tasmania (LIST).

Key issues

This information is available from Volume 2 of the last SoE Report (SDAC 1997), which can be downloaded. The final objective, final recommendation, and a summary of key management actions are detailed below.

Actions taken

There are now many planning schemes which include basic if not wholly satisfactory development controls for bushfire prone areas including: Break O'Day, Flinders, Glamorgan /Spring Bay, Tasman, Hobart, Kingborough (pending), Glenorchy, Clarence (pending), Waratah /Wynyard, Southern Midlands (pending), Brighton, and West Coast. Reviews of the West Tamar, Meander Valley, Devonport and George Town planning schemes are under way. These measures have been included as schemes have been reviewed

A partnership agreement project is being undertaken by a group of council planners and others to develop bushfire planning tools which is intended to include a model schedule for planning schemes potentially suitable for adoption as a planning directive. This is proceding on the basis of adopting current technologies and knowledge while fundamental research is being undertaken. Tasmanian fire authorities are members of the consortium which was recently awarded federal funding for a Bushfire Cooperative Reseach Centre to commence operation on July 1 2003. A major research function of the Bushfire CRC will be to provide better information for the development of the sorts of tools envisaged by this Recommendation. Some fuel related studies will take place within Tasmania, but the major research gap is about bushfire output and building performance which does not need to be studied in Tasmania.

The objective and the recommendation from 1997 is restated to better reflect progress and the current situation. The 2003 recommendation is entitled Sustainable Development in Bushfire Prone Areas.