Applying the principles of adaptive governance to bushfire management: a case study from the South West of Australia

Abstract

Bushfires are a global climate change challenge and a critical disaster issue for Australia. Adaptive governance has emerged as a model to address socio-ecological issues such as disasters. This paper discusses four principles of adaptive governance: polycentric institutions, collaboration, social learning, and reflexivity and examines how these are reflected in the policy and practice of bushfire management in the South West of Australia. Findings demonstrate that current disaster policy discourse, which influences bushfire management, increasingly advocates for principles associated with adaptive governance. However, a case study on the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River found that the extent to which these principles translate into bushfire management practice is largely influenced by interpretive worldview policy frames. The paper suggests that governance for bushfire management could become more adaptive in its approach by incorporating more collaborative management activities, deliberative policy processes and reflexive practice.

Keywords:

• bushfire
• disaster
• adaptive governance
• collaboration
• reflexivity

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Dr Courtney Babb, Dr Mohammad Swapan and Associate Professor Laura Stocker, who provided direction, critique and proof reading. Thanks is also given to Curtin University and the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River for providing the facilities and resources that enabled the author to conduct the research for this paper.

Funding

This research is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.