Resilience research central to blueprint

CRC research on natural hazards resilience forms a key part of a blueprint for fire and flood resilience, released this week by the Minderoo Foundation.

The fire and flood resilience blueprint, We rise together: lifting Australia to be the global leader in fire and flood resilience, was launched at the National Press Club in Canberra and online by The Hon Karen Andrews MP, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, on 15 September.  

The blueprint comprises of three ‘missions’:

1. Fire shield – imagine if we could put out any fire in less than an hour?
2. Resilient communities – imagine if every community in our country had the skills and resources to cope with fire and flood disasters?
3. Healthy landscapes – what if we could improve our ecosystems’ immunity to fire and flood disasters?

The resilient communities mission draws heavily on the CRC’s research, using data from the Australian Disaster Resilience Index, explained CRC CEO Dr Richard Thornton.

“Data and research must drive us as a country to continue to increase our resilience to natural hazards. The Minderoo Foundation’s Fire and Flood Resilience initiative is an important step and the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC are pleased to be part of it, with our Australian Disaster Resilience Index providing essential data. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the Minderoo Foundation over the coming years as we seek evidence-based approaches to reduce the impacts of natural hazards,” Dr Thornton said.

Developed with the University of New England, the Australian Disaster Resilience Index provides the first national snapshot of disaster resilience to help governments, local organisations and emergency services improve their communities’ resilience to natural hazards. Minderoo will use the Index, in combination with other data, to achieve their goal of raising the disaster resilience in communities they are working with to levels comparable with 50 of the most disaster resilient communities across the country.

Adrian Turner, CEO of the Fire and Flood Initiative, believes the research sector will play a crucial role in the blueprint’s success.

“We have drawn on the best research here and overseas. Everything we have done and proposed is grounded in research and a strong evidence base.”

The CRC is one of over 50 organisations that have partnered with the Minderoo Foundation and were members of the blueprint’s working group. Organisations involved in the include federal and state government agencies; non-government organisations; financial, insurance and utilities; and peak bodies and industry associations.

For more information about the launch of the blueprint, see Minderoo’s website.

Explore the Australian Disaster Resilience Index.