AUSTRALIA
A History of Fire & How it can Help in Future DIGITAL MEDIA MARKETING MB Enterprises
Australia is the smallest of the seven continents and the
since ages, the animals have adapted and so did the plants,
seventh largest countries on earth. The Capital city is
however, the threats have increased more or less. An Aussie
Canberra and the biggest cities are Sydney and Melbourne
environmentalist from a University believed that all this is
that are the economic and cultural centers and one of the
embedded in the Australian biota, and in its genome.
most developed cities in the world. The country is full of landscapes, forests, and deserts making Australia one of the
IT SEEMED LIKE MAGIC IN AUSTRALIA:
most wanted tourism and cultural spots in the world. It has
The early Australians i.e. the indigenous Australians just
been called as the oldest continents, “The last of Lands” and
celebrated their land, the fire, hunted, cooked and used it to
“The Last Frontier.”
good effect to manage the massive land. The originals from Australia, as they are known as ‘The Aborigines’ i.e. ‘The
AUSTRALIA- THE ‘FIRE’ CONTINENT OF THE GLOBE:
Native Australians’, made it more of a fire continent than it
However, the country has faced immense challenges due to
was before. They were the ones who knew the best use of the
dangers and hazards caused by bushfire and wildfires in their
fire stick and consumption of what they called ‘The Magic of
forests. Australia comes 6th on the list of forest area covered
Fire’ in the medieval ages.
with 16% of their land covered in forests. The country has a history of bushfires with many people dying annually, wildlife
Their land management practices included “cultural burning”
getting killed and many other hazards that have been a
i.e. coming from the primitive times. ‘Cultural Burning’ helps in
source of challenge for the Government of Australia.
preventing the fire risks and protecting native habitats.
According to the forest researchers of Australia, the bushfires
The next age settlers’ i.e. European settlers and newcomers
have shaped our continent since many years and the threats
saw the cultivated landscape, a land that has been nurtured
are more immediate and impactful. It is known as the
irrespective of the hazards. Seemed like a piece of magic or a
‘Fire-continent’ of the Globe and that’s the most concerning
miracle especially to the colonists who thought that it had
things i.e. the future of fire as the continent steps into the
been prepared for them and their stocks. A landscape that
hotter times. The intensity of heat in the forests in summer is
was transformed through years of constant understandings of
so high that it causes fire, however, the answers can be local,
combatting instruments from the wildfire.
ecological and historical. THE NEW ERA OF WILDFIRES-THE GLOBALIZED AGE: A LANDSCAPE SHAPED BY FIRE:
A set of carefully managed fire practices used by the old age
The conditions in Australia and the landscape is the right one
Australians i.e. Indigenous Australians were altered in one of
for fire. With time since the last century the flora and fauna
the most drastic ways.
has adapted. According to the botanists and regional researchers from Forests in Australia the continent has
The arrival of Europeans in around 1788 saw some great
possessed the right conditions for fire. It is wet enough for
disasters as they removed the managers from the
things to grow and dry enough for them to burn. With time
landscapes, letting the land go wild. European settlers saw a
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MBE BUSINESS MAGAZINE APRIL / MAY 2020
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