In Australia we call them bushfires. In other parts of the world they are called forest fires, and global climate change and increasing human populations mean they are increasing in frequency and ferocity.

Wherever they occur – from the Australian bush to the Amazon Basin, the jungles of Sumatra or the hills around Los Angeles – fires can have a devastating impact on the environment, on biodiversity and, in many cases, on property and human life.

The Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires at the University of Wollongong is dedicated to scientific analysis of bushfire risks, and to resolving perceived conflicts between protection of human life and property, biodiversity conservation and protection of other environmental values.

The Centre is led by Professor Ross Bradstock, who has an international reputation for his work in fire management research, while the University’s Dean of Science Professor Rob Whelan is one of Australia’s leading authorities on the ecological effects of bushfires.

For more information: University of Wollongong,

Prof. Ross Bradstock, Tel: +61 2 4221 5531,

rossb@uow.edu.au