FIRE! THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE
University of Adelaide, 30 September–1 October 1999

Throughout Australia's human history, fire has played a key part in shaping the continent and influencing the character and behaviour of the people who inhabited it. Long before the arrival of Europeans, fire was an integral part of Aboriginal economies. Today bushfires can still devastate rural and urban communities, and profoundly affect the economy and the environment. Strategies for managing and responding to bushfires cause much debate. Australian fire-fighting technologies are exported to other parts of the world.

This conference was organised by the National Academies Forum to explore what we know about the Australian experience of bushfires, including reports on the latest research and developments across the fields covered by the four Academies of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), Humanities (AHA), Science (AAS) and Social Sciences (ASSA).

Papers from the conference are available on the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering website.