There’s a 60,000-Year-Old Way to Help Stop Australia Burning
- First Australians say traditional controlled burns are needed
- Minister orders enquiry that will look at indigenous practice
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Australia’s indigenous people say the bushfire-ravaged country is paying the price for ignoring their expertise in managing the ecology of the world’s-driest inhabited continent.
The fires have already burned more than 6 million acres -- an area the size of Massachusetts -- and caused smoke haze to blanket Sydney and other cities. With a deepening drought suggesting there’s no end in sight to the crisis, indigenous fire practitioner Victor Steffensen is calling for a radical change in how the land is managed.