Prescribed burning on private land: reflections on recent law reform in Australia and California

Abstract

Background Prescribed fire is a critical tool for building resilience to changing fire regimes. Policymakers can accelerate the development of effective, adaptation-oriented fire governance by learning from other jurisdictions. Aims We analyse reforms to prescribed fire governance to highlight improvements for fire hazard reduction and resilience. Methods We searched legislative registers in New South Wales (NSW), Australia and California, United States, identifying Bills tabled between 2011 and 2022 that mention the terms ‘prescribed (fire or burn)’ or ‘controlled (fire or burn)’. We reviewed the eight relevant Bills from NSW and 67 Bills from California to identify and thematically code reforms relevant to private landowners. Key results We found three primary themes across relevant legislative proposals: (1) reforms to simplify permitting and regulatory approval processes (primarily in Australia); (2) efforts to mitigate the risk of legal liability for escaped burns (primarily in California); and (3) recent recognition of and support for cultural burns (primarily in California). Conclusions Expanding prescribed burning on private land remains an ongoing challenge in NSW and California but recent reforms indicate greater attention, and jurisdiction-specific approaches, to this challenge. Implications Despite differing governance arrangements, California and NSW offer important insights for improving climate-adaptive governance of prescribed fire.