Fires are burning where they never used to burn
10 September 2019
Published by https://www.smh.com.au/
AUSTRALIA – As northern NSW and southern Queensland burn, there has been much discussion about an “early” bushfire season. Unfortunately, this is our new normal. While the official NSW bushfire season has always been from October 1 to March 31, long term records show that fire seasons now start much earlier, and last longer.
The number of days of Very High fire danger and above are also increasing. This is a clear long-term trend, driven by the warming and drying effects of climate change. It is not conjecture, but established fact, verified by the CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology, and the Bushfire/Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre.
East Coast fire emergency
South East QLD and Northern NSW are battling dangerous bush fires.
The world’s lack of action on climate change and environmental protection – including the inaction of our own government – is costing all of us a great deal. Communities in NSW and Queensland are paying that cost right now, and there are widespread predictions that things will worsen as summer looms. It is a global problem with fires burning in countries that have never before had fires, and a massive escalation in fire problems elsewhere, such as California.
There is another, more far-reaching cost than the human impact: destruction of natural ecosystems and our fragile environment. Fires are burning in places where they never used to burn; places that are not adapted to fire and which therefore cannot easily recover. The world heritage-listed, high altitude rainforests of the Mt Hyland Nature Reserve on the Dorrigo Plateau are on fire. The area has remained largely unchanged for millions of years – one of the last remnants of the ancient Gondwana rainforests that once covered the entire continent. Last summer fires raged through old growth forest in Tasmania which had never before seen extreme fires. Sub-tropical rainforest in Queensland, also not adapted to fire, burned freely.
Our environment is under assault not only from fire, but from our governments. Short-sighted land clearing laws in NSW and Queensland are adding to an environmental catastrophe. One study suggests that between 2000 and 2017 more than 7.7 million hectares of natural forest and ecosystems have been decimated in Australia. There has been a tripling in land clearing for agriculture in NSW in the past five years. Many of our iconic native plants and animals are being driven to the brink of extinction. Trees are one of the most effective ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but we are cutting them down indiscriminately.
Our brave firefighters, volunteer and paid, will face off against the flames no matter what. But they need a lot more help in the form of deliberate action on climate change to slow down the climate emergency, more federal funding for specialist equipment like large firefighting aircraft, and a stop to cuts that affect the firefighting capabilities of agencies like the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Another long and dangerous bushfire season is likely. As sensitive ecosystems burn, and communities are threatened, we will hear the platitudes of concerned politicians – concerns that are no doubt genuine. It’s time to see that matched by action before the event: in the form of genuine policies on climate change and protection of our unique environment.
Greg Mullins is a former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner.
