Integrated economic assessment of management actions to reduce fire risk to Naseby, New Zealand

In the Otago region of New Zealand, Naseby is a small tourist town faced with an increasing risk of a severe fire event. Burning of tussock grasslands by pastoralists and recreational activity are just a few land management actions that pose significant risks to the town, surrounding communities, and biodiversity assets. We present a quantitative decision framework to provide an integrated assessment of the land management activities. The model was developed using existing literature and extensive consultation with stakeholders and fire researchers. We quantify trade-offs between economic, social and environmental outcomes from various fire risk mitigation strategies. We present results for a range of scenarios, exploring the tradeoffs between competing objectives for land management in Central Otago.