Internal Report 566
Atkins S & Winderlich S (eds)
Supervising Scientist Division

About the report
The Kakadu National Park Fire Management Symposium and Workshop is the third in a series of symposia and workshops held by Kakadu to focus on the agents of landscape change.
The aim of the symposiums and workshops is; through the effective transfer of knowledge between stakeholders in the Kakadu region management issues, emerging threats, knowledge gaps and research priorities related to fire management on a local, regional and national scale can be identified and discussed.
The symposium was held at the Aurora Kakadu - South Alligator, Kakadu National Park, on 23-24 April 2008.
Over sixty participants from a wide range of stake holders including government agencies, traditional owners, indigenous associations, local private industry, academic and research institutions were represented at the symposium.
Kakadu National Park is moving towards developing fire plans based on a landscape or ecological unit basis rather than the current geographical (district) based model. The Park completed the first of these landscape based fire plans in 2007 focusing on the stone country - Arnhemland Plateau Fire Management Plan (2007). One of the objectives of this forum was to gather information for input into the development of other landscape based fire plans, including one for the floodplain, woodland and riparian areas within Kakadu National Park.
Based on this, presentations and workshops were focused on each of the landscape units. The topics presented provided an overview of the current fire management within Kakadu, current monitoring programs and presentations on fire related specifically to different landscapes types including floodplain, stone country and woodland ecosystems. Presenters aimed at reviewing the major treats of fire to the different landscape types, presented results from current research, discussed management implications and the incorporation of this information in to the parks plans and strategies.
Topics presented at the symposium included:
- Local and regional perspectives on fire management
- Savanna tree growth, recruitment and mortality in relation to fire
- Fire and vegetation dynamics of Kakadu savannas
- Flood plain burning projects from both an indigenous and scientific perspective
- The development and implementation of the Kakadu Stone Country Burning Plan
- Wet season burning
- The impact of fire on fauna
Workshops were held on the following topics:
- Woodland burning
- Floodplain burning
- Stone Country burning
Kakadu National Park is currently in the process of developing the floodplain fire management plan, incorporating knowledge and outcomes from this symposium and workshops. It is anticipated that the knowledge and outcomes on savanna, riparian and woodland landscapes and the effect of fire on these areas will be included in the fire plans on there respective landscape units if the near future.