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Burning issue: Denmark group continues to push for independent review of DBCA prescribed burning policy

Stuart McGuckinAlbany Advertiser
Fire and Biodiversity WA convenor Bart Lebbing.
Camera IconFire and Biodiversity WA convenor Bart Lebbing. Credit: Laurie Benson/Albany Advertiser

Denmark’s Fire and Biodiversity WA will present to the the WA Parliament Environment and Public Affairs committee on Friday as they push for an independent review of the State’s prescribed burning practices.

The group is calling for a panel of experts to assess the ecological impact of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions’ burning practices, which convenor Bart Lebbing said had changed little since their introduction in the 1950s.

“What we see with the prescribed burns is that they are getting hotter and a lot of prescribed burns take out all the canopy which then changes the whole ecosystem,” he said.

“The system has just been carrying on with what was started in the 1950s and 1960s, which was virtually burning the whole of the State.

“There are very few areas which are unburnt. The current policy is to keep 45 per cent of the whole conservation estate under six years since last burn.”

Calls for a review come after the submission of two petitions in September, presented to the Upper House by South West MLCs Sally Talbot and Jackie Jarvis.

The petitions, which had more than 2500 signatures between them, asked for a review to assess six aspects of the DBCA’s burning practices — the environmental objectives, ecological impacts, application of leading external research, provision of fire exclusion reference areas, adaptive management for climate change, and transparency.

Dr Joanna Young and Melissa Hull will join Mr Lebbing to present on behalf of Fire and Biodiversity WA.

“We mostly will be presenting evidence of unsatisfactory outcomes to flora, fauna, and to sensitive ecological communities — such as peat swamps, granite outcrops and coastal heath” Mr Lebbing said.

“We would like to see a panel of experts look at all aspects of prescribed burning and how we can do it better.”

He said the proposed panel should include experts in the fields of fire mitigation, ecology, human health and climate.

Also scheduled to present at the committee hearing are the Leeuwin Group, the DBCA and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

A DBCA spokesman said it took several years to develop an “evidence and risk-based approach” to balance its responsibility of protecting communities and the impact burns can have on biodiversity.

“From a biodiversity perspective, prescribed burning is undertaken to maintain a range of wildlife habitat types through the creation of low-fuel areas in a mosaic of burnt and unburnt patches across the landscape,” he said.

“Prescribed burns occur in more favourable conditions than intense summer bushfires, enabling animals more opportunities to safely move into areas of unburnt vegetation and various plant species opportunities to regenerate.

He said the DBCA maintained an active fire research program with a “a Statewide focus building on knowledge gained over more than 60 years through long-term studies and monitoring”.

“DBCA also engages collaboratively with a range of organisations and community groups with an interest in and expertise relevant to bushfire science,” he said.

Last month, the Shire of Denmark council voted unanimously in favour of a motion to add its voice to the call for the State Government to carry out an independent review of the DBCA’s prescribed burning practices.

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