<
https://theconversation.com/how-1970s-conservation-laws-turned-this-paradise-on-earth-into-a-tinderbox-192401>
"Southeast Australia’s bushfire crisis culminated in the devastating bushfire
season of 2019 and 2020 that burnt nearly 25 million hectares of bush.
Our new research demonstrates how the scale of this disaster blew out due to
legislation introduced in the 1970s, which was based on idea that nature should
be left to grow freely without human intervention.
We investigated the bushfire history of one of the worst hit areas: Buchan on
Gunaikurnai Country in Victoria. We found no bushfires burned there for almost
a century until the mid 1970s, following the establishment of the Land
Conservation Act of 1970 – legislation that sought to protect the Australian
bush from humans.
This legislation banned farmers from mimicking Aboriginal burning practices by
using frequent fires to promote grass for livestock. As a result, the amount of
flammable trees and shrubs exploded in the region. It was only after this
prohibition on burning that catastrophic bushfires became an issue in the
Buchan area.
The prolonged neglect of southeast Australian forests under the guise of
conservation means our forests now carry dangerous levels of fuels. This
creates the conditions in which climate-driven bushfires become megafires,
devastating Country and people’s lives."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
