In recognition of NAIDOC Week 2024, the University of New South Wales (UNSW) highlights its efforts to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into its bushfire research, particularly as climate change heightens fire risks.
Modern society often views fire with fear, associating it primarily with destruction, a perception intensified by events like the 2019-20 Black Summer Bushfires. However, for Indigenous Australians, fire historically served as a tool for hunting, harvesting, and cultural practices. This intrinsic connection to fire remains strong within Indigenous communities today.
UNSW Canberra researchers are actively working to blend Indigenous fire management techniques with modern scientific approaches.
“Understanding Indigenous fire knowledge adds depth to modern bushfire research while respecting cultural practices that predate colonization,” UNSW bushfire director Jason Sharples said.
Sharples noted that many current fire management practices, such as prescribed burns, are rooted in Indigenous knowledge, even if this connection is not widely recognized. Indigenous communities traditionally used environmental indicators, like the falling of wattle flowers and specific cloud formations, to determine the optimal times for controlled burns. These practices align with Western scientific methods that also consider seasonal and climatic conditions.
At UNSW, efforts are underway to ensure that Indigenous fire knowledge is central to bushfire research. UNSW Canberra leads two major projects, supported by the NSW Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre, which emphasize collaboration with Indigenous partners.
One project focuses on ridgelines, key ecological features that align with Indigenous Songlines and are prone to dry lightning strikes, often igniting bushfires. By combining traditional knowledge with mathematical modeling, researchers aim to improve the management of these critical areas.
The second project examines the bushfire regimes of southeast Australia. Researchers will incorporate traditional fire regimes, Indigenous calendars, and cultural fire lore to identify areas at heightened risk of extreme fire events, such as fire thunderstorms.
“NAIDOC Week is a good opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance of promoting the cultural practices and learnings of Indigenous Australians, and this will remain central to the work we do within UNSW Bushfire,” Sharples said.