When forest and land fires (karhutla) occur, public attention usually\nfocuses on the area of land burnt, the number of hotspots, smoke, carbon\nemissions, and economic losses. However, one question is rarely\ndiscussed: what is the value of the biodiversity and DNA sustainability\nthat is also burnt?<\/p>\n
This question is important for Indonesia. As one of the countries\nwith high biodiversity wealth, Indonesia\u2019s forests hold far more than\njust trees and carbon. Forests hold habitats, flora, fauna, genetic\nresources, water, soil, food, medicines, and various ecosystem services.\nFor indigenous peoples and communities living directly with the forest,\nthe forest is also a living space, a source of livelihood, cultural\nidentity, and in certain contexts has a very important value as local\nwisdom in the form of DNA sustainability. Therefore, when forests burn,\nwhat is lost is not merely vegetation cover. What also burns is natural\ncapital and part of Indonesia\u2019s living heritage.<\/p>\n
Do Not Only Count the Burnt Area<\/p>\n
So far, the area of burnt land has been one of the main indicators\nused to describe the impact of fires. Yet two areas that both burn 1,000\nhectares do not necessarily have the same ecological value. The first\narea may have relatively low biodiversity. The second area could be a\nhabitat for endemic species, an important area for wildlife, an\necological corridor, a peatland area, a water source, and a living space\nfor local communities. In numerical terms, both are 1,000 hectares, but\nthe value lost can be very different. Therefore, we need to change the\nquestion from: \u201cHow many hectares of forest burned?\u201d to: \u201cWhat was\ninside that area and what value was lost when the ecosystem burned?\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the importance of including biodiversity value, natural\ncapital value and local wisdom in calculating the impact of fires. What\nburns is not only trees; forest fires can cause the loss of several\nlayers of value at once.<\/p>\n
First, species value. Flora and fauna can die or lose habitat and\nfood sources. Second, habitat value. Habitat damage can disrupt\nreproduction, food chains, and wildlife movement. Third, genetic value.\nEvery species carries genetic resources that may have benefits for food,\nmedicine, technology, and science in the future.<\/p>\n
Fourth, ecosystem service value. Forests regulate water systems,\nprotect soil, store carbon, support pollination, and perform various\necological functions. Fifth, social and cultural value, known as local\nwisdom as Indonesia\u2019s DNA sustainability, which has so far been\nrelatively difficult to include in economic calculations. This means the\nprice of burnt timber is not the true value of a forest. Forests are\nnatural capital.<\/p>\n
The Fire Is Out, the Impact Is Not Over<\/p>\n
Another mistake is to assume the problem is over once the fire is\nextinguished. In fact, fires can cause a chain effect within the\necosystem. Vegetation is reduced. Insects lose habitat. Birds lose food\nsources. Mammals lose living space. Predators lose prey. The food chain\nis disrupted.<\/p>\n
The forest may appear green again a few years later, but it does not\nnecessarily regain the ecological structure and function it had before\nthe fire. Therefore, an extinguished fire does not always mean the\necosystem has recovered. The recovery time of each ecosystem differs. In\ncertain conditions, some biodiversity and ecological functions may even\nrequire a very long time to return or may not fully return to their\noriginal state. In other words, a fire is not only a fire event, but a\nnatural capital loss event.<\/p>\n
Do Not Reduce Forests to Merely Carbon Value<\/p>\n
Carbon is currently one of the main concerns in forest protection.\nThis is very important because forests store carbon and fires can\nrelease it into the atmosphere. However, there is a risk if we view\nforests only as carbon stock. Forests are: Carbon + Biodiversity + Water\n+ Soil + Ecosystem Services + Social-Cultural Value. Carbon is only one\ncomponent of natural capital. If our attention is only on carbon, we may\nforget that within forests there are species, habitats, water sources,\nknowledge, and ecological relationships that also have value. Therefore,\nIndonesia needs to move from merely carbon management towards natural\ncapital management.<\/p>\n
Indonesia Needs a Biodiversity Data Bank<\/p>\n
The next issue is data. Indonesia needs an Indonesia Biodiversity\nData Bank, an integrated and continuously updated biodiversity data\nsystem. Ideally, such data should not only record species names, but\nalso habitat, endemic and threatened species, genetic resources,\necological corridors, carbon stock, ecosystem services, fire history,\nland cover change, population conditions, sensitive areas, and\nrestoration data.<\/p>\n
Why is this data important? Without a baseline, after a fire we can\nonly say: \u201c1,000 hectares of forest burned.\u201d With biodiversity data, we\ncan know which species were affected, which habitats were lost, which\necological functions were disrupted, how much carbon stock was affected,\nand how the recovery process is proceeding. Indonesia does not only need\nforest cover maps. We need maps of Indonesia\u2019s biodiversity value and\nnatural capital.<\/p>\n
Forests Are a Living Library<\/p>\n
There is one wealth that is often overlooked in biodiversity\ndiscussions, namely the knowledge of communities living with the forest.\nIndigenous peoples and local communities in various regions have\nknowledge of medicinal plants, water sources, seasons, wildlife\nbehaviour, utilisation of forest products, and areas that must be\nprotected. From this perspective, forests can be seen as a living\nlibrary.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/biodiversity-and-dna-sustainability-also-threatened-by-forest-and-land-fires-1787449842", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }