Ensuring That We Can See the Wood and the Trees

Abstract

This chapter discusses the need to view wildfire risk management as an activity that is embedded in the relationships that exist between people and forest environments. It outlines the issues that need to be accommodated to develop holistic approaches to wildfire risk management that can facilitate more harmonious ways of social coexistence with forest environments. This chapter discusses the causes of wildfire, how causes will change over time, the consequences that need to be predicted and managed, and the need to develop risk management strategies that accommodate the perspectives of all stakeholders in a context in which social (e.g., social development in wildland-urban interface areas) and environmental (e.g., climate change) contributions are creating a progressively more complex risk scape. How this can be accomplished is discussed in the context of the lessons that can be learned from integrating interdisciplinary perspectives on the causes, consequences, and systematic management of wildfires.