Abstract: |
The new Australian Bushfire CRC (Cooperative Research Centre) is a major long-term effort intended to improve the safety of Australian communities by harnessing research for improving wildfire related policy and practice. One of the CRC’s projects concerns the development of “Reliable Assessment Methods for the Total Costs of Bushfires and the Benefits of Mitigation”. The initial part of this project is the subject of this presentation. Economic analysis for flood hazard management has a long history and is highly developed for urban areas. Drawing on this extensive material, as well as existing approaches to the economics of fire and the criminological literature on the economics of arson, we are working towards the development of a model for the comprehensive assessment of the economics of interface wildfires. Special attention is paid to the “exceptional” events that contribute most fire losses – and for which suppression is problematic. In addition, the extra costs imposed by arson will be incorporated into the approach. We will be identifying the primary drivers of costs and benefits, and the main opportunities for significant cost savings in the current and likely future Australian fire management environment. Future elements of the project will examine the economic implications of different approaches to fire and fire management, and link the preferred economic model and its outputs with models of fire behaviour and suppression. |
