Indigenous Australians say traditional land burning could help counter bushfires

[snoop1130]

Indigenous Australians say traditional land burning could help counter bushfires

 

Indigenous Australian Jacob Morris, who was taught ancient burning techniques by his family, tests the quality of the forest soil as he speaks about cultural burning in Illaroo, New South Wales, Australia, January 22, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

 

ILLAROO, Australia (Reuters) - As bushfires engulf parts of southeastern Australia, indigenous Australians say their traditional land burning methods could help contain out-of-control blazes that have led to the worst wildfire season on record.

 

Hundreds of wildfires in Australia have killed 29 people since September, as well as an estimated 1 billion animals, while incinerating 2,500 homes and a total area of bushland one-third the size of Germany.

 

Jacob Morris, a 28-year-old indigenous man, has conducted fire workshops to teach traditional land management ways, and believes that a lot of Australia’s grief could have been avoided by using what is known as “cultural” or “cool burning”.

 

To revitalise the land for farming or hunting purposes, the practice involves lighting low intensity fires to burn off bushland.

 

On some privately held land near the bushfire hit town of Nowra, about 150 kilometres (93 miles) south of Sydney, areas where traditional burning had been used were greener and less affected by the bushfires, according to Morris.

 

“When we light the fire we actually walk with it,” Morris said, as he showed Reuters how it was done on a patch of grass, adding that the lie of the land and wind direction were key factors to consider because they affected a fire’s intensity.

 

Usually the fire is controllable and burns for a short period of time, which helps to prevent future fires or at least, slows down their rate of spread, Morris said. 

 

The same ways are practiced by indigenous groups across the globe, said Jordan Profeit, a Yukon first nation fireman visiting Australia from Canada on a knowledge exchange program. 

 

Australia’s rural fire service and other land management organisations have begun to consult with indigenous groups as part of their burning regimes. But calls are rising for more indigenous oversight of fires and land management.

 

David Bowman, a professor of fire science at the University of Tasmania, said “cultural burning” tended to be used for small holdings, whereas fire services conducted hazard reduction burning operations on a larger scale.

 

Ultimately, he said, the choice of method would come down to funding.

 

“On public land, the government has a budget,” Bowman said. “Give them a different budget and you can get a different outcome.”

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-01-23

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

[malt25]

Couldn't agree more ! If it weren't for brain dead tree huggers, back burning would have been carried out over past seasons. This back burning may not have prevented the bush fires however would have greatly reduced their devastation. The sooner the Greens become extinct the better. Remember... the only true wilderness is between a greenies ears !

[bridge2bridge]

1 hour ago, malt25 said:

Couldn't agree more ! If it weren't for brain dead tree huggers, back burning would have been carried out over past seasons. This back burning may not have prevented the bush fires however would have greatly reduced their devastation. The sooner the Greens become extinct the better. Remember... the only true wilderness is between a greenies ears !

TOTALLY AGREE

[AJBangkok]

It’s a bit of a joke. The firefighters know back burning works and how to do it and the only reason they are “consulting” with Indigenous aboriginals is to try to get around the Greens who don’t want a conflict with aboriginals as they are an important part of their manifesto.

[Krataiboy]

The original "greens" were the indigenous people of Australia, the Americas and other nations decimated and deposed by greedy colonialists.

 

They were practising real "sustainable development" long before the United Nations borrowed the term to disguise the true intent of the egregious UN Agenda 21 and Agenda 30 programmes now rolling out worldwide.

 

https://www.corbettreport.com/tag/agenda-21/

 

Today's green movement sprang from totalitarian roots - and is returning to them as the tool of the globalist elite and Non-Profit Industrial Complex funded by some of the world's worst polluters.

 

https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-non-profit-industrial-complex-and-the-co-opting-of-the-ngo-environmental-movement/5521526

 

Edited January 24, 2020 by Krataiboy

[bristolboy]

6 hours ago, malt25 said:

Couldn't agree more ! If it weren't for brain dead tree huggers, back burning would have been carried out over past seasons. This back burning may not have prevented the bush fires however would have greatly reduced their devastation. The sooner the Greens become extinct the better. Remember... the only true wilderness is between a greenies ears !

 

5 hours ago, bridge2bridge said:

TOTALLY AGREE

 

4 hours ago, AJBangkok said:

It’s a bit of a joke. The firefighters know back burning works and how to do it and the only reason they are “consulting” with Indigenous aboriginals is to try to get around the Greens who don’t want a conflict with aboriginals as they are an important part of their manifesto.

 

More nonsense from those who believe the lies propagated by the Murdoch media empire. (But what can you expect from people who don't even know what back burning is.)  There was no planned reduction in prescribed burning. In fact in Queensland there was a record amount of prescribed burning. In NSW there was twice the amount of burning in the last 5 year period than there was in the 5 year period before (prescribed burning is carried out in 5 year rotations).

 

Fire behaviour under extreme and catastrophic conditions

Experts emphasised that in extreme and catastrophic fire conditions, the surface fuel available for burning makes next to no difference to the level of a fire's intensity.

University of Melbourne associate professor Trent Penman, who studies bushfire behaviour,told Fact Check: "Prescribed burning effectiveness decreases with [increasing] FFDI; when you exceed an FFDI of about 50, you switch from fuel-dominated to a weather-dominated fire.

"At this point, while fuel has a small effect, it is overwhelmed by the weather."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-20/hazard-reduction-burns-bushfires/11817336