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ABSTRACT
New Zealand Journal of Forestry (2008) 53(3): 23–26
©New Zealand Institute of Forestry
Feature article
The role of research in managing forest and rural fire risk
Stuart A.J. Anderson 1 and H. Grant Pearce 2
1 Scion, Rural Fire Research Group, Christchurch
2 Scion, Rural Fire Research Group, Christchurch
Research into rural fire behaviour and management in
New Zealand is largely carried out by Scion’s Rural Fire
Research Group, based in Christchurch. A major research
focus since the programme’s inception in 1992 has been
to develop and validate the New Zealand Fire Danger
Rating System (NZFDRS). The NZFDRS incorporates
effects of the environment (fuels, weather and topography)
on fire behaviour and provides a tool for reliable fire
management based on sound science. The development
and structure of the NZFDRS is described in Fogarty et
al. (1998) and Anderson (2005, 2006). Other fire research
carried out by Scion covers fire climate and weather, social
science and firefighter safety and physiology. The research
Group is funded by the Foundation for Research, Science
and Technology (Contract C04X0403) and a rural fire
sector “collaborative” that includes the NZ Fire Service
Commission and National Rural Fire Authority, NZ
Forest Owners Association, Department of Conservation,
NZ Defence Force, Territorial and Local Authorities and
Federated Farmers of New Zealand. Research collaborators
within New Zealand include NIWA, Landcare Research and
the University of Canterbury. New Zealand is also a core
member of the Australian Bushfire Cooperative Research
Centre (CRC)2, a major bushfire research initiative bringing
together Australasian fire researchers and practitioners.
Scion scientists are actively involved in research projects
in close collaboration with their Australian counterparts,
focussing on fire behaviour in scrub vegetation (Scion
2008a), grassland fire hazard assessment (Bushfire CRC
2006), and social (community resilience) (Langer 2005) and
firefighter safety research (Parker et al. 2008).
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