Melbourne:A study published in Nature has found that British colonization contributed to worsening bushfire risks in Australia by altering the landscape. Researchers from the University of Melbourne and the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation discovered that forest expansion and thickening post-colonization made landscapes more susceptible to fires, compounding the effects of climate change.

According to Anadolu Agency, The study reconstructed 1,000 years of vegetation history in Croajingolong National Park, a fire-prone area in southeastern Australia. Findings revealed colonization led to cascading changes, including higher fire temperatures, a fourfold increase in eucalypt cover, the transformation of open woodland into forest, and increased soil erosion.

Michael-Shawn Fletcher, the lead author, emphasized the importance of cultural burning and integrating Indigenous knowledge into modern fire management strategies. He noted that prior to colonization, the Gunaikurnai people effectively managed the landscape, maintaining it as open woodland which protected the land from catastrophic fires even during dangerous fire weather periods like Ash Wednesday and Black Saturday.

Separately, in the Northern Territory, Australia marked a significant milestone with the commencement of construction on a 1.8 billion Australian dollars ($1.2 billion) rare earths mine. This project, supported by the US and Australian governments and businesswoman Gina Rinehart, has been in development for two decades.