National Prescribed Burning Network
AFAC collaborates with and supports member agencies in using fire in the landscape for bushfire mitigation, community safety, and ecological and land management purposes.
The AFAC National Manager, Prescribed Burning Strategy, is based at the Bushfire Centre of Excellence in Western Australia under a partnership agreement with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services.
The National Prescribed Burning Network, comprising AFAC member agencies in each Australian jurisdiction plus the Forest Fire Management Group (FFMG), has formed a Steering Committee to inform strategic directions.
National Position on Prescribed Burning
AFAC, through extensive consultation with AFAC and FFMG member agencies, has developed this National Position on Prescribed Burning. The position is a statement of common principles that underlie prescribed burning. Agreed upon by Australian fire and land management agencies, the position will provide guidance on prescribed burn programs and policy for years to come.
AFAC and Forest Fire Management Group National Position on Prescribed Burning
Prescribed Burning in Australasia
In Australia, the land of droughts and flooding rains, fire has been a force in the landscape for millennia and deliberate application of fire has been practiced for at least 50,000 years by Australia’s First Peoples. While different from indigenous burning, prescribed burning (planned burning, controlled burning) is a prevailing, and sometimes controversial practice across much of Australia’s forests, grasslands and bushland. It is still seen as the most effective and efficient approach to treating bushfire risk across large areas of bushland. In the last 15 years, we have seen a significant increase in the frequency and severity of large bushfire events, leading to public and political calls for even more burning.
This book is essential reading for bushfire professionals, land managers, scientists, policy makers, volunteer firefighters, rural homeowners and all Australians interested in this controversial topic.
Visit the AFAC Marketplace to purchase a copy.
National Burning Project: Prescribed Burning Guidelines and Frameworks
The National Burning Project was an initiative of the Forest Fire Management Group and AFAC. It was funded by AFAC member agencies and the Commonwealth of Australia.
Drawing upon the expertise of scientists, program managers, burn planners and practitioners across Australia, the project documented best practice regarding the strategic, operational and ecological aspects of prescribed burning. A suite of publications provides principles, frameworks and guidance for policy development, program design, burn planning, implementation and evaluation, including the management of risk.
All publications are scheduled for periodic review, and others will be developed as gaps are identified and lessons learned.
Header image: Judy Dunlop, WA Parks and Wildlife Service