@article {bnh-8293, title = {Guidance framework for the selection of different fuel management strategies}, number = {716}, year = {2021}, month = {12/2021}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

Planned burning is one of the most utilised fuel management activities, but the safe application of this method is hindered by climate change (e.g. shrinking and shifting windows of opportunity) and adverse societal and environmental outcomes (e.g. smoke impact, risk of fire escape). For this reason, fire managers need access to detailed information to help them make informed decisions and select a fuel management strategy that is compatible with a range of factors.

This report focuses on the development and illustration of a general guidance framework that provides users with the information and knowledge they need to select suitable fuel management strategies for their particular circumstances, and hence assists them with preparing an effective fuel management plan. The framework is developed based on a review of literature and data collected from survey responses from local governments and their fire managers in Western Australia who conduct fuel management activities.

The framework provides information on a set of functions bushfire mitigation officers need to consider when developing fuel management plans for a range of fuel management techniques. The functions are divided into:

The fuel management techniques include:

The utility of the framework is illustrated on two hypothetical scenarios, representing situations where a user would like to ascertain relevant attributes of a set of candidate fuel management techniques and where a user would like to identify the best fuel management technique for a given situation.

}, keywords = {framework, Fuel management, guidance, strategies}, issn = {716}, author = {Amelie Jeanneau and Aaron Zecchin and Hedwig van Delden and Tim McNaught and Holger Maier} } @article {bnh-7196, title = {Benefit versus cost analysis and optimal cost effective mitigation strategies}, number = {598}, year = {2020}, month = {08/2020}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {MELBOURNE}, abstract = {

This report forms part of the output to a research project entitled {\textquoteleft}Cost effective mitigation strategy development for flood prone buildings{\textquoteright} within the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre. The motivation for this project arises from the experience and observations during the recent flooding in Australia in 2011, 2013 and 2015, which caused widespread devastation in Queensland. A fundamental reason for this damage was inappropriate development in floodplains and a legacy of high risk building stock in flood prone areas. The BNHCRC project aims to address this issue and is targeted at assessing mitigation strategies to reduce the vulnerability of existing residential building stock in Australian floodplains.

Previous project steps towards achieving this goal have included the development of a building schema to categorise the Australian residential building stock and a literature review of mitigation strategies developed nationally and internationally. The review categorised strategies into elevation, relocation, dry floodproofing, wet floodproofing and the use of flood barriers. Five typical storey types which represent the most common residential buildings in Australia have been selected to evaluate the above mentioned mitigation strategies.

\ Each mitigation strategy has been costed through engagement of a professional quantity surveyor and the application of the mitigation strategies and resultant reduction in susceptibility of damage has been quantified in the form of vulnerability models for mitigated storey types.

This report presents an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of flood mitigation strategies to residential buildings in Launceston Tasmania through a benefit versus cost analysis. The benefit versus cost analysis requires assessing loss both pre-and post-mitigation for a range of flood likelihoods with the difference being the benefit. The costs of the applied mitigation are then compared to the benefits with a benefit versus cost ratio of greater than 1.0 indicating an economically viable decision.

In the research presented here the mitigation options were typically assessed as cost-effective when considering damage to the rersidential buildings with the probable maximum flood extent.\  An important modelling assumption was to assume that the existing levee system that does provide a level of flood protection to Launceston was not in place (i.e. the City was unprotected). The results here are also only for one catchment and its behavior and also for the building stock in Launceston. The use of temporary flood barriers around the area with the highest flood hazard was the most cost-effective measure.

Work will continue with cost versus benefit analyses planned for other locations with different building stock configuarations and different catchment type behaviours. The result will be an evidence base to inform decision making by government and property owners on the mitigation of flood risk. The evidence base will feature information on the cost effectiveness of different mitigation strategies and optimal solutions for different cases of building and catchment types.

}, keywords = {benefit, buildings, cost analysis, Flood, mitigation, strategies}, issn = {598}, author = {Maqsood, T and Dale, K and Martin Wehner} } @article {bnh-6774, title = {Unpacking the meaning of resilience: the Tarnagulla community definition comparing to the literature}, journal = {Australian Journal of Emergency Management}, volume = {35}, year = {2020}, month = {01/2020}, pages = {29-37}, abstract = {

In 2018, the Tarnagulla Alternative Energy Group in regional Victoria took steps to plan futures for their town and its local community that strengthened resilience to the many challenges in the area including those from climate change. Believing that {\textquoteright}anticipation strategies work against known problems, while resilient strategies are better against unknown problems{\textquoteright} (IFRC 2012, p.5) the group turned to the RMIT Climate Change Transformations group to unpack the meaning of resilience as it related to the town and community. The purpose was to produce a locally-focused Resilience Action Plan. Despite an international consensus and media propagation of resilience as a silver bullet to address future uncertainties, the concept remains contentious and challenging to implement. This paper considers how the various framings of resilience - the {\textquoteright}conceptual{\textquoteright} (in literature) and the {\textquoteright}operational{\textquoteright} (in policy) - relate to the Tarnagulla community{\textquoteright}s lived experience and the implications. The comparison allows to unpack a mixture of the complexities in understanding the nature of values, preferences, expectations, capacities, contested knowledge, as well as, the uncertainties. Study findings show that communities are best placed to frame their resilience, collectively and from a {\textquoteright}systems{\textquoteright} perspective, and that implementing actions, which may require radical change, hinge on a political voice and sustained support from policy makers.

}, keywords = {Climate change, community, operational, resilience, strategies}, url = {https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/ajem-january-2020-unpacking-the-meaning-of-resilience-the-tarnagulla-community-definition-comparing-to-the-literature/}, author = {Mittul Vahanvati} } @conference {bnh-6512, title = {The mitigation exercise: a long term mitigation planning process, with a coastal flooding case study in Adelaide}, booktitle = {AFAC19 powered by INTERSCHUTZ - Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Research Forum}, year = {2019}, month = {12/2019}, publisher = {Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience}, organization = {Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

The Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) has had a cluster of research projects focused on economics and strategic decisions to improve mitigation since its commencement in 2013. A great deal of work has been done across the economic dimension looking at such issues as:
{\textbullet} risk ownership {\textbullet} non-market value of losses {\textbullet} tracking the impacts of disasters as they ripple through sectors of the economy {\textbullet} land use planning policies for reducing losses

These projects seek to present end-users, emergency management agencies and organisations, as well as recovery agency and other relevant departments such as planning and treasury, with more accurate insights into the potential losses from disasters.

Download the full non-peer reviewed research proceedings\ from the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Research Forumhere.

}, keywords = {coastal, Emergency management, Floods, mitigation, risk management, strategies}, url = {https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/australian-journal-of-emergency-management-monograph-series/}, author = {Ed Pikusa} }