Project update - scientific diversity

This is the September 2016 newsletter from the Scientific diversity, scientific uncertainty and risk mitigation policy and planning project (RMPP), with updates for project end-users. This edition is bumper packed as there has been a longer than usual break since our update.

Hawkesbury-Nepean case study and Liz Clarke

It is exciting times at present as we have just had a staff changeover and commenced the final case study. We have very good news in that our third scenario exercise on flood risk in the Hawkesbury-Nepean is going ahead. This has been possible because an overview of the taskforce findings will soon be publicly released. Liz Clarke has joined the team specifically to complete this case study, and we look forward to her insights. Ms Clarke, Dr Timothy Neale (by phone) and Dr Jessica Weir met with Mr Paul Fuller and Ms Maree Abood from Infrastructure NSW in September in Sydney to progress the case study. Dr Neale is remaining on the project in an 0.1 in-kind capacity, as part of his Research Fellow position at Deakin University.

Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC and AFAC conference

AFAC16 was held in Brisbane from 30 August – 1 September. Dr Weir, Ms Clarke, Associate Professor Michael Eburn and Professor Steve Dovers from the project team attended. There were many sessions of relevance to the project, including a fascinating keynote on the evolving science of ensemble prediction by CRC researcher Dr Jeff Kepert; bushfire management and planning in the Northern Territory; ‘Burnability’ in the Otway Ranges; as well as various presentations on flood risk mitigation. At the Research Forum, Dr Weir presented a paper co-authored with Dr Timothy Neale and Prof Dovers; and, Dr Weir and Dr Neale also exhibited a poster:

• Neale, T and JK Weir 2016, The social life of science in natural hazards policy and planning: tales from Victoria and the Northern Territory, AFAC presentation, 30 August 2016, Brisbane
• Neale, T and JK Weir 2016, The social life of science in natural hazards policy and planning: opportunities and challenges, AFAC poster

International travel

Dr Neale travelled to Barcelona to present research findings from the project at the 4S/EASST conference, an event that occurs every four years, joining the annual conferences of the European Association for Science and Technology Studies (EASST) and the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S). The presentation was part of a very successful panel on anticipatory planning that included research on flood modelling and forest management in Europe. Following the conference, Dr Neale also met with risk researchers at CNRS (Paris), IRSTEA (Grenoble), Oxford University and Leeds University to discuss both the project’s method and findings and possible future cross-utilisations of project methods.

Northern Territory fieldwork

In May-June 2016, Dr Neale returned to Darwin to complete final interviews and fieldwork for this case study.

Canadian case study

Associate Professor Tara McGee has submitted an application for funding to carry out the Alberta case study, which will use the methods already developed to consider the use of science in bushfire risk mitigation in Canada. A/Prof McGee hopes to hear back in late October or early November. 

Publication update

Dr Neale’s short piece titled ‘The social life of science in policy and planning’ was published in the Autumn edition of CRC's magazine Fire Australia.

The project’s most recent peer-review publication is in press:

•    Neale, T. (2016). [In Press] Burning anticipation : wildfire, risk mitigation and simulation modelling in Victoria, Australia.Environment and Planning A. doi:doi:10.1177/0308518X16651446

The abstract for this paper is available here. 

You may also wish to read our earlier peer-reviewed publication: 

Neale T, Weir JK and Dovers S. (2016) Science in Motion: integrating scientific knowledge into bushfire risk mitigation in southwest Victoria. Australian Journal of Emergency Management.

This paper is available Open Access on the AJEM website here.