@article {bnh-8304, title = {Opportunities for alternative fuel load reduction approaches - summary report}, number = {719}, year = {2022}, month = {01/2022}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

Planned burning is one of the most utilised fuel management activities, but the safe and effective application of this method is likely to be hindered by climate change (e.g. shrinking and shifting windows of opportunity) and potential adverse societal outcomes (e.g. smoke impact, risk of fire escape). For this reason, fire managers need access to detailed information to help them make informed decisions and select a fuel management strategy that is compatible with a range of factors.

This project explored the use of experts{\textquoteright} knowledge and the UNHaRMED Decision Support System (DSS) framework (an integrated spatio-temporal model for analysing natural hazard risk within urban and rural environments) to assess the opportunities and risks associated with different approaches to reducing bushfire risk via fuel management.

This project identified:

This report presents the major findings from the Fuel Load Reduction Utilisation Project and proposes future research directions identified by end-users, building on this project{\textquoteright}s results. The proposed projects could help develop policies and strategies for reducing risk in emerging bushfire risk areas at the State and national scale by offering a range of fuel management activities adapted to specific regional conditions, which could change over time.

}, issn = {719}, author = {Amelie Jeanneau and Aaron Zecchin and Hedwig van Delden and Roel Vanhout and Tim McNaught and Mike Wouters and Holger Maier} }