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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

Actions taken

Objective

To provide a scientific basis for the use of fire as a land management tool.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Department of Environment and Land Management, in consultation with Forestry Tasmania and the Tasmanian Fire Service, makes available information from research into the ecological and physical factors associated with fire to enable the development of fire management regimes that are consistent with land management objectives and biodiversity conservation strategies.

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

In 1997, Tasmanian fire authorities helped sponsor a major national conference to review fire regimes and biodiversity in Australia. This conference resulted in the book 'Flammable Australia: the fire regimes and biodiversity of a continent' (Bradstock et al. 2002). In 2000, Tasmanian fire authorities under the auspices of the State Fire Management Council (SFMC) established a website to provide fire managers and the community with access to the best information available for all aspects of fire management. This site is being progressively expanded as resources permit. SFMC also manages the Tasmanian Fire Research Fund which specifically encourages the development of future researchers for all areas of fire management. DPIWE has included fire management information in its materials such as the Tasmanian Bushcare Toolkit and on its website.

Tasmanian fire authorities are members of the consortium recently awarded federal funding for a Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre to commence operation in 2003. A major research function of the Bushfire CRC will be to both provide and communicate more fire management information as envisaged by this Recommendation. Fine detail fire ecology studies need to take place in Tasmania to inform fire management plans and support for these studies will need to continue.

Other initiatives undertaken over the past five years include: fire management research undertaken at the Tom Gibson Nature Reserve; ecological burns undertaken for the Orange-Bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster) have coincided with improvements in species status; long-term monitoring of fire ecology in the WHA; review of fire response and management; Conference of Indigenous Use of Fire held in 2001.

The Commission considers that the intent of the 1997 objective and recommendation remains valid and appropriate for 2003 and, accordingly, it is carried forward for further consideration.