Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Management Plan 2021
Fire managementFire management
Start here
Get a plain-English read of Fire management
Turn the raw legal text into a practical explanation grounded in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Management Plan 2021.
Fire management
Fire (waṟu) is a natural part of the park’s cultural and natural values and is integral to maintaining Tjukurpa. Aṉangu have always used fire as an important tool for managing country, and this long-standing relationship is acknowledged in the park’s World Heritage listing. Fire is also used for landscape scale ecosystem management, and often involves working cooperatively with neighbours through a regional burning approach.
Anangu fire management techniques create mosaics or patchworks of vegetation in different stages of recovery, and over many thousands of years the region’s plants and animals evolved under its influence. Many Central Australian species therefore have specific requirements related to the frequency and intensity of fires. Aṉangu use burning methods to collect resources, diversify food production and to help create diverse landscapes that can support many native species. Following the arrival of Europeans, and the movement of Aṉangu to settled communities, traditional patterns of burning were altered. Disruption of mosaic burning practices has resulted in large destructive wildfires, and reduced habitat diversity for native animals. It is also a contributing factor in the loss of mammal species from the region.
Most major wildfires have been recorded in the park since the 1940s, with several of these having severe impacts. Since the 1980s, fire management in the park has incorporated traditional Aṉangu knowledge to carry out prescribed burning based on traditional patch burning techniques. This helps to avoid, contain or minimise the spread of wildfires, and in turn reduce the impacts on sensitive flora and fauna species. In addition to protecting the park’s natural and cultural values, fire management programs also ensure the protection of life, property and park assets.
The park works with adjoining landowners and relevant agencies including the Central Land Council, Northern Territory Government agencies (e.g. Fire and Rescue Service and Bushfires NT) and neighbours to adopt a regional approach to fire management.