Working together to restore First Nations knowledge and rebuild Australia’s natural resilience

First Nations cultural practices of looking after Country were perfected over thousands of years and brought many social and biodiversity benefits. Before colonisation, fire management practices were one of many important rituals to keep flora and fauna ecosystems healthy, balanced, and connected throughout the seasons.  

While it’s been practiced less in recent generations, cultural burning is increasingly being recognised as important to protecting and restoring biodiversity and mitigating bushfire risk.  

Suncorp and Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA) recently released a discussion paper called ‘Nature Positive Solutions for Disaster Risk Reduction’ (NPSDRR). The paper highlights the many opportunities for increasing investment in nature-based (‘green’) infrastructure. It includes case studies about cultural burning reducing fuel load and mitigating natural hazard risk to ecosystems and the community. 

As part of its four-point resilience plan, Suncorp works with the likes of NHRA and government, industry and not-for-profit organisations to advocate for, and build, more resilient communities. 

One such partnership is Firesticks Alliance, a national Indigenous network that empowers communities to protect and enhance Country and wellbeing by reviving cultural knowledge practices. 

Suncorp has proudly partnered with Firesticks since 2021. 

Firesticks Alliance hopes to revive cultural knowledge practices to help the landscape heal and build natural resilience, while ensuring this important knowledge is passed on to future generations. 

Its vision is to empower communities to protect and enhance the Australian landscape through mentoring, training, and advocacy programs that demonstrate the value of Indigenous land management. 

Tagalaka man and Firesticks Co-founder Victor Steffensen explained the environmental and societal benefits of cultural fire, and why he believes Indigenous innovation and best practice is so important today.  

“Since regular cultural fires have stopped, we've seen a big decline in native flora and fauna, an increase in invasive species, and a devastating threat to human life and property,” Mr Steffensen said. 

Mr Steffensen said the world was witnessing bigger, more devastating wildfires that increased the fear of fire in modern societies. 

He said work needed to be done to restore knowledge and understanding of cultural fire practice. Case studies that demonstrate the positive outcomes of cultural burning have been instrumental in raising the profile of Firesticks’ vision, such as the ones published in the Nature Positive Solutions for Disaster Risk Reduction’ (NPSDRR) discussion paper recently.

Firesticks pursues its vision through workshops, mentoring, training and creating jobs in the community as well as protecting the landscape. 

Firesticks connects with communities and teaches them how to to manage their own landscapes through cultural burning. It’s also focused on facilitating the development of a strong national network of professional cultural fire practitioners who are fully trained, accredited and certified to carry out cultural burns.  

“Creating employment opportunities in the regions is important. We support regions to be autonomous through training and building relationships with all their stakeholders,” Mr Steffensen said. 

“Our objective is to accredit 1,000 fire practitioners, incorporating other land management practises as well, such as weed and pest control. We involve the whole community and develop solutions that benefit everybody, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people of Australia. 

“For example, we’ve been working with farmers, helping them reincorporate traditional land management practises to restore the health of their farmlands. There is also a lot of interest in fire knowledge from councils and the general public.”