Crowley G. and Thompson P. (2005),
"Managing Perceptions" in Fire and Birds: Fire management for
Biodiversity, Supplement to Wingspan, 15, (3), pp. 12 -
14.
Every year millions of hectares of country are
burnt in northern Australia. Not suprisingly then fire management
is one of the most important environmental issues in northern
Australia. The problem is not necessarily too much fire, but how to
effectively manage fire.
Effective fire management requires an
understanding of environmental issues, access to adequate resources
and a co-operative approach by land managers. In recent years there
has been a change in attitude, a growing concern for the
environment, and a realisation that removal of indigenous people
from their country may have some long term detrimental impacts on
biodiversity distribution and composition.
Another key contributing factor is the type of fuel available
for burning: recent changes in the fire regime have encouraged
heavy fuel loads of annual, native sorghum spp, and in some cattle
grazing areas heavier than normal fuel loads due to gamba
grass.
Crowley et al. comment that without
effective fire management northern Australian landscapes will
gradually change: in drier areas savanna woodlands may become
treeless, heath plants may disappear and in wetter areas wet
sclerophyll forests may disappear under rainforest and woodlands.
Undoubtedly these changes will advantage some bird species whilst
disadvantaging others.
The authors note that much of the land in
northern Australia is controlled by 3 interest groups
(conservation, pastoral and indigenous) but that failing to manage
fire is largely due to a lack of understanding, motivation,
cooperation and capacity.
Crowley et al. conclude that one solution
to northen Australia's fire management problem may be returning
indigenous people to their country however they note that as much
of the country is very remote deriving an income from this country
is a greater challenge than managing the country for ecological
purposes.
