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Global fire experts recently gathered in Hobart for the 8th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels Conference, bringing together fire managers, scientists and Indigenous land stewards from 22 countries. The event focused on one of the sector’s biggest challenges: how to live with fire in a rapidly changing climate. Source: Timberbiz A strong line-up of presenters shared their knowledge, with Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) making a strong contribution. Dr Victor Hurley presented the Pine Plains Fire Management Plan, showcasing how regionally grounded science can support clear, defensible fire management at a landscape scale. Phillip Brien highlighted innovative approaches to integrating complex analytics into operational planning, including a Loddon Mallee fire response tool that helps identify and protect sensitive ecological and cultural assets during suppression, while optimising burn scheduling in the region. Sam Hillman and Merinda Day-Smith shared research aimed at improving fuel assessment to strengthen fire behaviour modelling. Their work is testing a more consistent, structured approach to how fuel is measured, which will improve model accuracy and help evaluate fuel management outcomes. Peter Ashton presented on the First Attack Decision Support Tool, highlighting its development, trial and use in operational preparedness, and identifying areas for improvement and potential future use. Pauline Rudolph examined the cumulative impacts of fire across the Grampians and Little Desert, highlighting the scale of recent fires and the ongoing challenge of maintaining critical biodiversity in landscapes dominated by younger, more fire-prone vegetation. Tim Gazzard and Sam Hillman contributed to a session on firefighting effectiveness, sharing insights from the development and use of remote helidip sites in eastern Victoria. Their presentation covered operational learnings, testing of tank designs and how these insights are shaping future infrastructure. Levi Lovett and Tom Robinson presented as part of the Working as One – Culture and Country session. They spoke about how cultural burning and modern fire management can work together to care for Country and support safer communities. They also shared how FFMVic worked alongside Traditional Owners and incident management teams during the 2024–25 Gariwerd (Grampians) and Little Desert bushfires to help protect important cultural heritage. Mr Lovett further highlighted work at the World Heritage-listed Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, showing how strong partnerships, Traditional Owner leadership and tailored fire response helped protect this significant place. A key theme across the conference was the shared challenges facing fire agencies worldwide, including rising bushfire risk, increasing community expectations and the need for transparent, evidence-based decision-making. The conference also provided valuable opportunities to strengthen partnerships across agencies and countries. By sharing local expertise and learning from global peers, FFMVic is helping ensure Victoria’s fire management remains forward-looking and better equipped to protect communities, culture and the environment.

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Australia has some of the world’s strictest illegal logging laws, with due diligence requirements applying to both domestic processors and importers before timber products can be placed on the market. Source: Timberbiz To help businesses navigate these requirements, Responsible Wood has developed a new Technical Note explaining how PEFC certification can support compliance with the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 and Illegal Logging Prohibition Rules 2024. For countries without Commonwealth Country Specific Guidelines, certification can provide a practical pathway to demonstrate compliance and simplify evidence collection. Download the technical note here.

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Sydney based fund manager New Forests has launched its Global Landscape Opportunities (GLO) strategy, the company’s first global natural capital offering, investing across forestry, agriculture, and complementary markets such as carbon and biodiversity. Source: Timberbiz To be established in Luxembourg, the new strategy brings together New Forests’ two decades of experience investing across regional markets into a single, globally integrated portfolio, targeting opportunities across North America, Europe, Australia-New Zealand, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa. GLO will be open for institutional investment only. The launch responds to growing investor demand for institutional-grade, global allocations to natural capital, as capital markets increasingly recognise the role of land-based assets in delivering inflation resilience, diversification, and the potential for attractive long-term real returns, alongside environmental outcomes. “The launch of our Global Landscape Opportunities strategy marks a significant step in the evolution of New Forests as a global natural capital investment manager,” Mark Rogers, Chief Executive Officer, New Forests, said. “We are seeing strong investor demand for scalable, institutional strategies that provide diversified exposure to natural capital. This strategy responds directly to that need – bringing together our global platform, investment expertise, and track record into a single, offering. “Natural capital is increasingly recognised as a core component of resilient portfolios, offering the potential for long-term returns while supporting critical outcomes such as climate stability, biodiversity and sustainable land use.” The GLO strategy will invest across a broad spectrum of natural capital assets, including sustainable forestry assets, agricultural land and food production systems, carbon and climate-related investments, and biodiversity and ecosystem markets. “Historically, many investors have accessed natural capital through regional allocations, but not all institutions have the scale, resources or expertise to build and manage global portfolios themselves,” David Shelton, Global Head of Investments, New Forests, said. “Building on New Forests’ regional return performance, this strategy allows investors to access a diversified global portfolio where we actively allocate capital across regions, sectors and markets to optimise outcomes.” “Natural capital offers a compelling investment proposition, with characteristics such as attractive long duration return profiles, inflation hedging, and low correlation to traditional asset classes. It also provides exposure to fundamental global demand for food, fibre, renewable energy and ecosystem services.” The proposed asset allocation will be: United States, Canada, Europe, UK, Australia, and New Zealand – 60% to 80% of the portfolio Developed Latin America (Brazil, Uruguay and Chile) – up to 30% of the portfolio Southeast Asia, other Latin America regions, and Africa – up to 20% of the portfolio   The target audience for GLO is institutional investors including pension funds, insurance companies, family offices, endowments and foundations.

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