Addition of natural hazards to bushfire - a seemingly simple task?

The environment that the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre (BNHCRC) finds itself in is a world away from that which its predecessor, the Bushfire CRC, had to deal with. The conceptually simple addition of all natural hazards to the research mandate has significant implications when it comes the breadth of players in the discussion. This now needs to bridge the United Nations and broad international treaties, through to local government and non-government organisations, to ensure that every person in every community is as safe as can be from hazards. 

A primary role of the BNHCRC is to act as a research and co-ordination body for natural hazards research in Australia. But this is not just any research; it is research that makes a difference. Research use is paramount! The BNHCRC conducts research that is addressing the highest priority, national needs of our partners. It engages and funds the best researchers from around the country and links them in a substantive way to the end users of their work, to ensure that it is adopted to benefit the Australian communities. But as simple as this sounds it quickly becomes complex in a policy and practice setting.

For example at the local level, where ‘the rubber hits the road’, there are far more players. Community resilience and protection from the impacts of hazards include a multitude of players. These include the commonwealth, state and local governments, non-government and charity organisations, such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Green Cross and also the private sector through insurance, finance and property development, and smaller suppliers of products and services. So the seemingly simple first step of broadening the agenda to other hazards opens up complexities that were not originally evident.

I will discuss this complexity in my talk at the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC and AFAC conference next week, if you can’t attend the slides will be available on the website.