Appendix 1 - Victorian Environmental Assessment Council

MNAC Report on the ECC Box-Ironbark Forests & Woodlands Investigation Draft Report
Trradi itti ional l burrni ing – Fi irre managementt
Fire is a key element to Aboriginal spiritual and social life. Aboriginal people have an ongoing and
fundamental relationship with fire. Aboriginal people have practised fire management for thousands of
years. Colonialism and European settlement impacted on traditional fire burning performed by Aboriginal
people to a point where it has now almost ceased in Victoria. Many Aboriginal communities throughout
Northern Australia undertake fire management regimes.
Burning practices in some areas contribute to the distribution of fire-dependent and fire-sensitive species.
Fires started by lightning fires and long-term changes in climate provided the setting for the evolution of
flora and fauna of this land for millions of years. In some areas fire-dependent flora and fauna species
have been affected due to the cessation of Aboriginal fire regimes. There is a significant difference in the
vegetation structure between environmentally similar sites that are occupied and unoccupied by
Aboriginal people.
The Aboriginal approach to fire management is different to non-Aboriginal practices. If public lands are to
be managed sustainably, it is crucial that the involvement and incorporation of Aboriginal people and their
fire knowledge be included in non-Aboriginal fire management practices.
At the recent Fire Symposium held in Hobart in May 2000, the Victorian Aboriginal delegates
recommended that a similar symposium that embraces and builds upon Victorian Aboriginal fire
knowledge be held. 2
2 Native Solutions Fire Symposium September 2000
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