Population pressures blamed for haze<\/p>\n
Jakarta's acceptance of responsibility for the forest fires
\nand its decree that fire should not be used for land clearance
\nare major steps in dealing with the haze problem. The question
\nnow is one of implementation, says Robert Fenton<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE: As human populations have increased, the world's
\nforests have gone. This has occurred in all countries and, so
\nfar, no one has learnt from the past to leave some reasonable
\nproportion of forest. It seems to be a lesson each nation
\npainfully learns for itself.<\/p>\n
The elimination of more than 80 percent of the original
\nforests in Thailand and the Philippines since the World War II
\nwas spread over 50 years and had not been accompanied by the
\ncurrent scale of smoke-pollution.<\/p>\n
Southeast Asia's present misfortune is that this process,
\nwhich has historically taken hundreds of years, has been
\naccelerated by the combined impact of increasing populations and
\nthe demands on resources for economic development in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
So the forests of Sumatra, and to a lesser extent those of
\nKalimantan, are being cleared over a few decades. Because of the
\nweather patterns in September to November, the smoke drifts
\ntoward Peninsular Malaysia.<\/p>\n
To blame the El Nio pattern is illusory. This has occurred
\nmany times in the past without this year's unacceptable levels of
\nsmoke-pollution. But El Nio does accentuate a bad year.<\/p>\n
There are several reasons why forest-clearing is currently so
\nintensive in Indonesia:<\/p>\n
(1) There is a great plywood industry which is facing a
\nrapidly declining source of virgin logs. So it is exploiting
\npreviously-logged forest for raw material.<\/p>\n
(2) These logs are at a lower stumpage than from the original
\nforest.<\/p>\n
(3) Then reforestation in Indonesia is accompanied with a
\nconsiderable subsidy.<\/p>\n
(4) The new plantations (and the other forms of land-use) are
\neasier to establish, and grow better if planted on ex-rainforest
\nsites rather than on the degraded grassland areas (lalang -
\nwhich, in turn, result from successive fires).<\/p>\n
(5) The population of Java is a third greater than the
\ncombined populations of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore; these
\npeople are increasingly voting with their feet. This means moving
\ninto Sumatra, where the soils are fundamentally better than in
\nKalimantan. However, as soils are poorer than in Java, a larger
\nunit area is required to support each person, hence clearing is
\ngreater.<\/p>\n
Apart from uses of converted rain forest for agricultural
\nplantations (rubber and palm oil) and conventional agriculture
\nfor permanent settlement, there is cultivation for cash crops for
\nsale in Java and Sumatra, and the continuation of the eons-old
\nshifting cultivation agriculture (this was usually the convenient
\ncause given for the smoke, an excuse easily rejected as the
\ncenturies of such subsistence agriculture had never given rise to
\nthe actual volume of today's smoke).<\/p>\n
There have been two major changes in the past three years. The
\nfirst is the Indonesian government has clearly accepted
\nresponsibility for these fires. This is a fundamental point of
\ngreat importance as it clears the way for more constructive
\nefforts.<\/p>\n
Then at the tactical level, it has decreed that fires are not
\nto be used for land-clearing. This illustrates the most
\nconstructive way of dealing with the problem. The problem now is
\nto get it implemented.<\/p>\n
New pulp mills being established (two very large ones have
\njust come into production) are clearing logged rain forest for
\nraw materials, but are supplementing this as fast as possible
\nwith plantation wood. In compliance with Jakarta's decrees, it is
\nreported that the big companies are no longer using fire as a
\nland-clearing tool.<\/p>\n
Fire has been used, as it is the cheapest way of removing
\nforest. But its real economic cost is unacceptable. The way is
\nnow clear for the Indonesian government to act directly to use
\nother ways as the population accepts that fires are illegal.
\nGranted it will take time and much propaganda effort to convert
\nthe locals from burning. But this is an internal matter.<\/p>\n
The tactical alternatives to fire are to utilize as much wood
\nas possible so as to reduce the amount of wood residue; and to
\npile this residue wood where it can rot.<\/p>\n
The growth of population, with its demands for firewood as
\nsuch, will result in relatively smokeless fires (on hearths). For
\nexample, at present about 80 million rural people in Java use the
\nfirewood available on that not-very-big island.<\/p>\n
Sumatra's population will soon rise to more than 70 million,
\nso this outlet becomes increasingly important. The new planned
\npulp mills can provide a growing outlet for the residual wood.
\nOnce plantations are established for these big industrial plants,
\nit would be soon found that the recycling of nutrients is
\nimportant, so the new plantations are unlikely to be burnt after
\nlogging for this reason alone.<\/p>\n
The planned clearing by machines, after stratifying by
\ntopography class, was suggested earlier. The smoke can be greatly
\nalleviated. The recent release of US$7 billion on a direct
\ngovernmental basis would be an opportunity to include a planned
\nprogram of smoke-reduction. For example, there is an enormous
\nprogram of rural education to be undertaken, a burden which can
\nbe shared by advertisers on television.<\/p>\n
This program does not cover the burning peat. Both Sumatra and
\nKalimantan have a high proportion of swamp forest, which has been
\nheavily logged. So large areas of peat soils are exposed and,
\nwhen they dry out, are easily set alight. Peat fires are
\nnotoriously difficult to put out and can burn for decades.<\/p>\n
The strategic battle has already been won. The problem has
\nbeen acknowledged and use of fire for clearing banned. There is a
\ncurrent extra direct tactical cost in the substitution of
\ninitially more expensive land clearing methods. But this cost
\nwill soon be recouped, as the relatively scanty nutrients are
\nrecycled for the future land uses, rather than wasted in smoke.
\nThe education program needed is very large.<\/p>\n
So the outlook is hopeful as the decisive political change has
\nbeen made. The golden opportunity of linking aid with a desirable
\ncourse of rural action has to be taken.<\/p>\n
The situation reviewed here assumes, of course, that there is
\nlittle likelihood of the forest remaining in an unused state. The
\nquestion of sustentation is another matter. It appears
\nextraneous, as the forests are being removed in any case.<\/p>\n
Dr. Robert Fenton is a Solo Forestry Consultant, working
\nprimarily on Southeast Asia and Japan. He is currently based in
\nNew Zealand.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/population-pressures-blamed-for-haze-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}