The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (or the single entity referenced in Recommendation 4) lead the development and distribution of evidence-based land and fuel management tools for use by all legislated fuel management organisations to ensure a common approach to fuel management.
DELWP will prepare a bushfire science, fire ecology and knowledge and predictive services strategic plan, to identify priority investment areas by April 2021.
In 2021 DELWP under the Safer Together program developed the Strategic Science Investment Plan (the Plan) which presents key science investment areas across the themes of Bushfire Risk, Predictive Capability and Ecosystem Values.
The Plan outlines:
- Safer Together's vision for what science investment will achieve
- the investment paths that will enable DELWP, CFA and Parks Victoria, as well as their research partners, to achieve its vision in the short to medium (1-5 year) and longer (5-10 year) term.
The Plan recognises that continued investment in science-based knowledge and evidence underpins land, fire, and ecosystem management practices. It also enables a better understanding of how to reduce the impact of major bushfires on communities, the natural landscape, and built environments in the context of climate change.
The Plan was developed through consultation and collaboration across the fire and emergency management sector supported by the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre.
IGEM notes that the Plan has been endorsed by FFMVic but is yet to be published.