Thousands of years of Indigenous land and fire management knowledge is being harnessed as part of a $2 million Morrison Government program to help local communities and regions better prepare for major bushfire events.
The collaboration between Indigenous and conventional land and fire managers is being supported through the Morrison Government’s $200 million investment in bushfire recovery for wildlife and their habitat, part of its $2 billion National Bushfire Recovery Fund.
Thirteen grants have been announced delivering a broad range of workshops, cultural burn demonstrations, community engagement and education, and the provision of further training resources across bushfire impacted areas.
Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said the Indigenous workshops would share knowledge about cultural burning practices, and the ways they can assist with local land management and bushfire preparedness strategies.
“Increasing understanding of local landscapes, flora and fauna and how these interact with cultural burning is an important part of the fire and land management conversation,” Minister Ley said.
“Traditional Owner groups will hold workshops across the country sharing their knowledge with local land managers, local fire services and councils to identify different types of burns and the ideal weather conditions for protecting native flora and fauna during burns.”
“This is about sharing knowledge and experiences,” Senator Molan said.
“There are many ways that we can help our local environment recover and help protect it in the future, and these workshops will play an important role in that process.
“The Morrison Government continues to deliver on its commitment to support bushfire affected communities and environments, and this is another example of the breadth of that commitment.”
Projects are to be completed by April 2022. The full list of successful projects is available here.