Blazing the way for integrated fire management, this innovative project offers a unique lens by connecting ancient wisdoms with today’s challenges to improve the bushfire resilience of our landscapes, ecosystems and communities, ensuring they are nurtured and revived by fire.

Our very own Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium (QFBC) is teaming up with the Githabul Peoples, harnessing local traditional knowledge to tailor a cutting-edge fire management strategy perfectly suited to the iconic landscapes of the Main Range area.

The quest for resilience and capacity building

The Township Fire Management Strategy is no ordinary plan. It’s an ingenious model developed by the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) that balances contemporary fire management practices with traditional knowledge. Best of all, QYAC have endorsed Healthy Land & Water to extend it to other communities across Queensland using the collaborative governance model of QFBC.

At the heart of the strategy lies a shared commitment to community safety, protecting life and property, and upholding the fire management aspirations of First Nations. It is developed in collaboration with key stakeholders at a local, regional, state, and federal level.

This First Nations-led approach has been recognised through the Resilient Australia Awards and by the Queensland Inspector-General of Emergency Management as an outstanding example of a cooperative, locally-led approach to fire management.

The Township Fire Management Strategy has a strong emphasis on both protecting life and property and managing land for biodiversity and ecological health.

The aim is for the strategy to work hand in hand with existing plans for the local township, National Parks, and state land whilst also aligning with the aspirations of the Githabul People to preserve their natural and cultural heritage.

It's all about collaboration and engagement, bringing together key decision-makers and managers to exchange knowledge and implement practical measures for boosting bushfire resilience.

Through a variety of interactive learning activities and on-ground actions, this project aims to empower local communities with valuable knowledge and skills to successfully manage fire. The goal is to create effective bushfire mitigation plans based on the most up to date knowledge, research and technology, to reduce disaster risk and strengthen the resilience of targeted areas.

This project will allow us to:

1. Collaboratively develop map-based fire management strategies for targeted townships.
2. Create fire management strategies based on bushfire hazard assessments specifically for landscapes that pose a significant risk to life and property.
3. Capture the requirements for risk assessments of the targeted landscapes.
4. Accurately determine the risk profile of the targeted townships.
5. Incorporate cultural burning practices that are integrated into the landscape.
6. Address the need for coordinated, standardised planning and for bushfire management and planning practitioners in government agencies and the private sector.
7. Engage key land use planning decision makers and managers within communities to exchange knowledge and provide clear, coordinated, and practical fire management actions that can be taken to enhance bushfire resilience.
8. Provide informed, clear, and co-developed and delivered fire management actions to stakeholders and community members through a program to enhance their resilience to bushfires.

Combining contemporary fire management practices with traditional knowledge

As part of the Township Fire Management Strategy, we attended a cultural burning workshop with Githabul burn operators Firelore and Condamine Headwaters Landcare. It was a fantastic day that saw Githabul People, young and old, connecting with Country and fire.

For countless millennia, the Githabul (Waringh Waringh) peoples have nurtured Country through a profound bond that preserves its vitality through the ages. Their traditional practices have enhanced and preserved ecological balance and cultural heritage.

That’s not all! We also facilitated capacity-building and learning opportunities for the Githabul People through contemporary fire management training. In mid-July, the Githabul mob participated in the Wildland Fire Crew Member course, a nationally accredited training that aligns with current legislative requirements. This course enabled trainees to carry out planned burns effectively.

During the training, the crew had the unique chance to join a training burn led by the Registered Training Organisation (RTO) Fire Management Training. This experience provided a perfect blend of traditional, ecological, and modern fire knowledge. The best part? It's a significant step towards establishing the future Githabul Ranger team. Capacity building at its finest!

Find out more about the incredible work the QFBC has done and is doing to build community resilience after the Black Summer bushfires here.

Acknowledgments

This project is supported by Healthy Land & Water through funding from the Australian Government’s Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants Program. We acknowledge the Githabul People as the traditional custodians of the land upon which we are working and pay our respects to elders past, present, and emerging.

Insights on cultural burns

Cultural burning, conducted with utmost care and sensitivity, allows for cool burns – low-intensity fires that allow for the landscape to regenerate while ensuring the survival of flora and fauna. Guided by traditional custodians, these burns create a mosaic of fires that provide escape routes for wildlife and breathe life back into the land.

Nights and early mornings are ideal for these fires, as the forming dew and lighter wind conditions help keep the fire cool. The technique is to walk around and light low-intensity fires in small areas with matches or fire sticks, and monitor them closely to make sure only the underbrush is burnt. This ensures that the seeds and nutrients in the soil needed for natural regeneration are not baked and destroyed by the fire.

Cultural burning often involves patch burning to create a mosaic of burnt and unburnt areas and may be used specifically for fuel and hazard reduction purposes. Fire is also used to gain better access to Country, to clean up important pathways, maintain cultural responsibilities, and as part of cultural heritage management. It may form part of a ceremony to welcome people to Country or could even be as simple as a campfire around which people gather to share, learn, and celebrate.