Nearly 400 representatives from research, industry, government and community sectors met in Melbourne at the start of May for the second annual Natural Hazards Research Forum.
The Forum was hosted by Natural Hazards Research Australia on Wurundjeri Country with the support of RMIT University from 1–3 May 2023, building on the outcomes and discussions of the inaugural Forum in 2022. This year’s event focused on the Centre’s ongoing program of research that has been steadily building over the last two years.
Across the three days, attendees heard 55 keynote and research presentations and were included in a series of workshops covering vital issues in natural hazards science and disaster resilience. Most attended in person, although most sessions were also streamed online. All presentations, recordings and posters are now available online.
The Forum officially opened with a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony by Daniel Ross from Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, setting the tone for good-faith knowledge sharing.
Keynotes profiled special topics from speakers such as Coordinator-General for Emergency Management Brendan Moon (National Emergency Management Agency); A/Prof Mel Taylor (Macquarie University) launching findings from the 2022 Queensland and New South Wales floods project; Dr Briony Towers (Leadrrr) and Neil Munro (Country Fire Authority) on how to tailor children’s bushfire education for modern learning; Tiffany Crawford (City of Melbourne), Kelly Gee and Judith Bruinsma (Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils) on urban heat impacts, adaption and mitigation; and a panel of First Nations researchers covering how research is shaping cultural land management and helping heal Country.
Workshops offered enhanced engagement across the program, with several streams covering ‘Be Ahead of Ready: building our future on today’s research’, land-use planning and resilient recovery, flood and extreme weather risk mitigation, bushfire and prediction risk mitigation, and next-generation capability. These workshops gave attendees the opportunity to become more involved with the research – learning more about the work being done, meeting the people involved and contributing firsthand to the needs and impacts of research outcomes.
Closing the Forum was a special session in partnership with the University of Melbourne, with resilience expert Prof Daniel Aldrich from Northeastern University (United States) on social infrastructure’s critical role in reducing disaster impacts.
Natural Hazards Research Australia CEO Andrew Gissing said the Forum was critical to building connections and sharing knowledge across the sector.
“It was fantastic to be able to showcase the research that Natural Hazards Research Australia is delivering. This is the science Australia needs so that we are enabling the solutions to building communities that are more resilient, sustainable and safer.
“Of particular importance was sharing the research findings from our social science research on the devasting flooding in Queensland and New South Wales last year. The experiences of flood-affected residents are vital to help preparedness, response and the early stages of recovery. These evidence-based policy insights are already being used to aid decision makers.”
The Forum was also an important opportunity to bring the Centre’s postgraduate and early career researchers together, with a dedicated half-day session on Day 1 that covered how to give research impact, effective communication and climate science.
All Forum sessions can be replayed on YouTube and each presentation and poster can be downloaded.
The next Natural Hazards Research Forum will be held in 2024.