Indigenous burn-offs are helping to make Australia more fire-safe

Indigenous fire management will improve the health and safety of the land, writes Brett Ellis.

Ancient knowledge: Indigenous burns like this one in 2019 remove the understorey and make forests safer for summer.

AUSTRALIAN scientific earth core sampling suggests that the mega fire ceased about 8000 years ago signifying that fire lore, customs and practices had established a balance between man, fire, flora and fauna.

Using “the right fire”, Aboriginals maintained the balance of country and as such enabled themselves and all living things to survive and thrive.

More than 200 years ago that balance was interrupted. Aboriginal fire lore was broken, fire practices were ceased and the landscape changed due to vegetation clearance and uncontrolled hot bushfires.

Unfortunately, Aboriginal fire lore is still being broken. Our country is sick. Current land and fire management practices are compounding this issue with increasing larger and more frequent devastating and costly mega fires the future for Australia.

Western fire and land management practices are continuing to destroy the sacred canopy and dry out the environment. With climate change, the need for healthy canopy and understorey will be essential to assist the environment to remain cool and resilient with increasing temperatures.

Aboriginals have dealt with climate change before and ensuring fire lore and practices are reinstated will provide the needed protection and management to allow the environment to be prepared and protected.

Unfortunately, much of the ancient knowledge of fire methodologies, lore and practices has been lost, especially in southeast Australia.

We are still fortunate that pockets of intact knowledge remain in other parts of the continent from which to rebuild important knowledge.

Having worked in senior strategic fire and emergency management roles at local and state government levels I have been challenged in the past trying to balance the competing views of burning and protection of the bush. I now know Indigenous fire knowledge and methodology is the key to balancing that tension and improving the health and safety of our landscapes.

Over the past five years I have had the good fortune of working with Aboriginal elders and knowledge holders who have spent many days at our property as part of an Indigenous fire and land management trial site. The Yarra Valley property was severely affected by Black Saturday bushfires and has a 40/40 split of pasture and recovering native vegetation.

Under the guidance of one of Australia’s best known leading indigenous fire practitioners, Victor Steffensen, and alongside Wurundjeri elder Uncle David Wandin, we have applied the right fire on the right country at the right time. And the landscape is showing the benefits.

The addition of indigenous fire into the system is producing an increased presence of native vegetation, stronger presence of kangaroo grass, wallaby grass and many native herbs, foods, medicines and orchids. This has been seen in the paddocks as well as under the tree canopy as strengthened native plants outcompete introduced grasses. Every area where we have applied the right fire, we have seen improvement in diversity of vegetation and wildlife. The locations are staying greener, healthier and stronger through summer.

● Brett Ellis is a fire & emergency management consultant and director at Firestick Alliance Indigenous Corporation

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