31 May 2018

Aboriginal communities and non-Indigenous organisations across the country are seeking to engage in fire management projects and fire based business opportunities, and the lessons and protocols identified by an early Hub project led by Dr Cathy Robinson (CSIRO) are supporting them to work together to use, share and develop their Indigenous and contemporary fire knowledge in successful partnerships. The project brought together Indigenous land managers, fire experts and researchers to meaningfully elicit and synthesise scientific, Indigenous and local knowledge through a cross-cultural and trans-disciplinary approach. This identification of challenges and lessons in Indigenous fire management informed six protocols that highlight the importance of Indigenous fire management priorities, and how partners can ensure that fire activities are appropriate, legal, safe and endorsed by the community. The protocols also provide a base against which fire-management partnerships may be designed and assessed to support Indigenous fire enterprises and programs.

The project has improved our understanding of how to evaluate success in fire management and fire management partnerships across the country. It’s also provided important baseline information for the National Landcare Program. This in turn has led to new work looking at identifying economic opportunities for Indigenous groups, and how to improve monitoring to provide a better platform for fire-related investments. For more information see the project summary or full report.

Indigenous ranger conducting a controlled burn, photo Glenn Campbell.