Abstract

While Australian government agencies are increasingly emphasizing the need to “build community resilience” to bushfires, communities in many rural landscapes have a strong history of actively managing fire risk, in particular through involvement in volunteer fire brigades. This paper explores social-ecological memory, social learning, and adaptation in volunteer Country Fire Authority brigades in western Victoria, specifically in the context of planned burning of strategic roadside fire breaks. It examines the relationships between local knowledge, narratives and practices of burning and how these shape volunteer identities, embodying “shared responsibility”. Findings show that participation in roadside burning is critical for supporting social learning and ongoing community engagement in fire management. However, changing land uses, social demographics and regulatory processes are negatively impacting local volunteer capacities. While brigades have responded by re-organizing their practices, questions remain as to what extent this constitutes adaptation or transformation connecting to broader landscape-level risk management.

抽象的

尽管澳大利亚政府机构越来越强调“增强社区对森林大火的抵御能力”的必要性，但许多乡村地区的社区都有积极管理火灾风险的悠久历史，尤其是通过参与自愿消防队。本文探讨了在维多利亚州西部的乡村消防局志愿队中的社会生态记忆，社会学习和适应问题，特别是在计划中的战略性路边灭火点燃烧情况下。它研究了当地知识，叙事和焚烧习惯之间的关系，以及它们如何塑造体现“共同责任”的志愿者身份。研究结果表明，参与路边燃烧对于支持社会学习和社区持续参与消防管理至关重要。但是，改变土地用途 社会人口统计和监管流程对当地志愿者的能力产生了负面影响。尽管各旅通过重新组织其做法做出了回应，但仍存在疑问，即这在多大程度上构成了适应或转变，从而与更广泛的景观风险管理联系在一起。