[Aqualist] 1-day workshop on Palaeoscience for Fire Management @ ANU 3 May 2019

[Simon Connor]

This is a reminder for the free workshop Bringing Paleoscience and Historical Knowledge into Fire Management at ANU on 3 May, 10am to 4pm.

Location: McDonald Room, ground floor, Menzies Library, Australian National University
REGISTRATIONS CLOSING TODAY (via link below):
RSVP Here<https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/bringing-paleoscience-and-historical-knowledge-into-fire-management-tickets-60448441917>.

All enquiries to Simon.Connor at anu.edu.au<mailto:Simon.Connor at anu.edu.au>

From: Simon Connor<mailto:simey_connor at hotmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 16 April 2019 8:03 AM
To: AQUAlist at anu.edu.au<mailto:AQUAlist at anu.edu.au>; Boris Vannière<mailto:boris.vanniere at univ-fcomte.fr>
Subject: 1-day workshop on Palaeoscience for Fire Management @ ANU 3 May 2019

Dear all,

I'd like to welcome you to join this workshop led by Boris Vannière (Chair of the Global Paleofire Working Group) and me on the 3rd of May.  Details below.  Please RSVP to Simon.Connor at anu.edu.au by the 29th of April if you'd like to come along.  All welcome!

All the best,
Simon
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Bringing paleoscience and historical knowledge into fire management

The ANU is delighted to welcome Dr Boris Vannière to Australia from late April to mid-May.  Boris is a paleoecologist specialising in fire history and is currently the Chair of the Global Paleofire Working Group (GPWG), a member of the PAGES Scientific Steering Committee and Director of Research at the CNRS in France. His visit provides an opportunity to organise this topical workshop and to encourage greater Australian involvement in the GPWG-PAGES network.

Introduction

Fire management is a major concern in countries like Australia, where catastrophic fires frequently impact on economies, infrastructure and livelihoods. To better understand and manage fire in these landscapes under a changing climate, we need to make decisions based on the best knowledge available. A vast and largely untapped body of knowledge about fire dynamics exists in paleofire research, ecological monitoring, historical documents and the sophisticated burning regimes practised by Indigenous communities for millennia. How can we bring sources of long-term knowledge to inform current fire policies and management?

The workshop

In this workshop, Boris Vannière and Simon Connor (ANU) will showcase recent activities and challenges in bringing paleoscience into fire management internationally. The workshop brings together people with diverse perspectives on fire to develop a future strategy for effectively communicating our past perspectives and insights to policymakers and management agencies. Following the lead of the Global Paleofire Working Group, the workshop focusses on three key questions:

1. Is the recent fire regime unusual in the context of the Holocene and how does it represent a risk for ecosystems and societies?

2. How can we transform paleofire data into understandable products for managers and policy makers?

3. What insights from paleo-perspectives can we use to support decision-making for ecosystem management?

Proposed outcomes

Workshop participants should come prepared to share their knowledge of fire in the Australian environment and contribute to open discussions about science communication. Following the workshop, participants will be invited to participate in drafting a jointly-produced policy document. A synthesis paper arising from the workshop and a kick-off draft for a multi-approach international project on fire will also be discussed. This is a great opportunity for researchers at all career stages to broaden their international collaborative networks and contribute to more inclusive and sustainable approaches to fire.

Date: 3 May 2019 – 10 am to 4 pm

Location: McDonald Room, ground floor, Menzies Library, Australian National University

RSVP to Simon Connor (Simon.Connor at anu.edu.au<mailto:Simon.Connor at anu.edu.au>) by 29 April for catering purposes