Resilience to Wildfire Challenges

Recent wildfire events throughout Aotearoa New Zealand have highlighted our vulnerability to these damaging events (e.g. 2011 Karikari Peninsula and 2017 Port Hills fires). The project team worked with communities to co-develop wildfire resilience initiatives that integrate rural wildfire hazard risk assessment and resilience initiatives within a multi-risk environment.

In Northland, the team worked with rural communities on wildfire preparedness, risk awareness and developing better understandings of iwi and hapū perspectives and practices for fire management. The project also focused on the role of community volunteers in fire risk emergency management and response, with the aim of understanding the role of volunteers across the ‘4Rs’ (reduction, readiness, response, recovery). Researchers learned that, on the Karikari Peninsula, whānau and marae helped to inform and support residents during and after the 2011 wildfire, and that experiencing wildfire encouraged the majority of residents to become better prepared.

The research produced useful recommendations for improving preparedness for wildfires and encouraging safe fire use in rural communities across Aotearoa New Zealand. The success of this study led to Scion social and kairangahau Māori researchers conducting a study with a hapū in the Hokianga, to explore what a resilient hapū would look like and to contribute towards planning with Māori communities to reduce natural hazard risk. Meanwhile, the Karikari study also helped shape other Scion-led social fire research, on targeted protection against extreme fire.

This combined research has helped inform Fire & Emergency New Zealand’s Māori engagement policy and contributed to their work with tangata whenua to build the resilience of Māori communities.