Understanding acceptability of fuel management to reduce wildfire risk: Informing communication through understanding complexity of thinking

Mylek, Melinda R.; Schirmer, Jacki

doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2020.102120

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Here, they attempt to develop a model that can predict degrading components. Mylek and Schirmer (2020) also provide an application of complexity thinking in communication strategies. They develop an approach to the design of communication, with the intent to match the complexity of the information with the population.…”

Section: Complexity Themesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Literature Review of the Impact of Complexity Theory on Applied Economics

Haynes

Alemna

2022

Economies

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A systematic literature review is used to explore the relationship between complexity theory and economics. Broad search terms identify an unmanageable large number of hits. A more focused search strategy follows the PRISMA protocol and screens for Economics branded publications, and with key words for different applications of economics occurring in the abstract. This results in a distinct group of 247 publications. One hundred and twenty-two publications are excluded due to inclusion criteria or a lack of relevance. The remaining 113 are analysed for (1) use of complexity theory concepts, (2) types of methodology and methods, and (3) the applications for macro, meso, and micro issues. The publication with the greatest frequency of resulting articles is Complexity, closely followed by Ecological Economics. The highest annual citation ratio for a single article was 33.88. Complexity theory concepts included: non-linearity, system interactions, adaption, and resilience. Many developed a meso application, rather than solely focusing on macro or micro designs. Agent Based Models (ABMs) were popular, as were general systems models following the practice of the late system theorist, Donella Meadows. Applications were interdisciplinary and diverse, including world system models that linked macroeconomics to climate and sustainability, as contrast with micro and meso models trying to explain the complexity of agent-based behaviour on specific organisations or higher-level processes.

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Section: Complexity Themesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Literature Review of the Impact of Complexity Theory on Applied Economics

Haynes

Alemna

2022

Economies

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“…Brunson and Evans (2005) note that without public support, wide-scale implementation of prescribed fire is unlikely regardless of its efficacy at reducing fuels. Further, long-term public support is necessary for sustained prescribed burning efforts needed to provide long-term ecological benefits (Mylek and Schirmer 2020). Brunson and Shindler (2004) found that survey respondents across select areas of the western US largely assessed prescribed fire as a legitimate tool and considered it an effective technique for reducing fuels.…”

Section: Public Acceptability Of Prescribed Fire Smokementioning

confidence: 99%

More smoke today for less smoke tomorrow? We need to better understand the public health benefits and costs of prescribed fire

Jones

McDermott

Champ

et al. 2022

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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Rapidly scaling up the use of prescribed fire is being promoted as an important pathway for reducing the growing damages of wildfire events in the United States, including limiting the health impacts from smoke emissions. However, we do not currently have the science needed to understand how the health impacts associated with prescribed fire smoke in the present compare to wildfire smoke exposure in the future. In particular, we lack an understanding of how the potential long-term public health benefits of prescribed fire on future wildfire smoke and health impacts compare to prescribed fire’s short-term effects on human health. Answering the question ‘How do we learn to sustainably coexist with wildfire?’ requires a new research agenda investigating the magnitudes and distribution of the health benefits and costs associated with prescribed burning. We suggest three areas for a new research agenda: (1) improved understanding of the health costs of prescribed fire; (2) quantification of the expected health benefits of prescribed fire through possible decreased future wildfire smoke emissions; and (3) better knowledge on the distributional impacts of prescribed fire smoke. We conclude that we need to first learn to sustainably coexist with prescribed fire in order to sustainably coexist with wildfire.

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“…Other barriers to prescribed fire include lack of capacity and inadequate funding, lack of agency direction, political conflict, lack of public support, air quality regulations and narrow burn windows, environmental laws, and liability issues (Miller et al 2022 , Schultz et al 2019a , Quinn-Davidson and Varner 2012 , Cleaves et al 2000 ). Proposed mitigation projects can also be controversial and agencies often struggle to advance proposals that meet the needs of various groups with competing values and interests (Mylek and Schirmer 2020 , Ostergren et al 2006 ). Further, fuel treatments that focus on the wildland-urban interface are much more visible and thus subject to increased public scrutiny (Brenkert-Smith et al 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New types of investments needed to address barriers to scaling up wildfire risk mitigation

Yung¹,

Gray

Wyborn

et al. 2022

fire ecol

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Background Wildfire mitigation is becoming increasingly urgent, but despite the availability of mitigation tools, such as prescribed fire, managed wildfire, and mechanical thinning, the USA has been unable to scale up mitigation. Limited agency capacity, inability to work across jurisdictions, lack of public support, and procedural delays have all been cited as barriers to mitigation. But in the context of limited resources and increasing urgency, how should agencies prioritize investments to address these barriers? Results To better understand different investments for scaling up mitigation, we examined how the wildfire problem is framed, building on existing social science demonstrating that agency approaches depend in part on how problems are framed. Using national-level policy documents and in-depth interviews, we found three ways of framing the barriers to scaling up mitigation, each emphasizing certain aspects of the problem and prioritizing different solutions or investments. The first framing, the Usual Suspects, focused on inadequate resources, cumbersome procedural requirements, delays due to litigation, and lack of public support. The solutions—to increase funding, streamline NEPA, limit litigation, and educate the public—suggest that more resources and fewer restrictions will enable agencies to scale up mitigation. The second framing, Agency-Agency Partnerships, focused on the ways that organizational structure and capacity constrain the development of effective cross-boundary collaboration. Here solutions prioritized organizational changes and capacity building to enable agencies to navigate different missions and build trust in order to develop shared priorities. The third framing, Engaging the Public, focused on lack of public support for mitigation, the need for meaningful public engagement and multi-stakeholder collaboration, and investments to build support to scale up mitigation. Conclusions This analysis reveals that investing in collaborative capacity to advance agency-agency partnerships and public engagement might not slow down mitigation, but rather enable agencies to “go slow to go fast” by building the support and mechanisms necessary to increase the pace and scale of mitigation work. Reframing the wildfire problem through a careful analysis of competing frames and the underlying assumptions that privilege particular solutions can reveal a broader suite of solutions that address the range of key barriers.

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Understanding acceptability of fuel management to reduce wildfire risk: Informing communication through understanding complexity of thinking

Cited by 7 publications

References 39 publications

A Systematic Literature Review of the Impact of Complexity Theory on Applied Economics

A Systematic Literature Review of the Impact of Complexity Theory on Applied Economics

More smoke today for less smoke tomorrow? We need to better understand the public health benefits and costs of prescribed fire

New types of investments needed to address barriers to scaling up wildfire risk mitigation

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