Fires prompt call for the conservasion of peat forests

The Jakarta Post, Palangka Raya, C. Kalimantan

As fires have been an annual problem in recent years in Central Kalimantan, the government needs to conserve the remaining peat swamp forests, according to the Center for International Cooperation in Management of Tropical Peatland (CIMTROP).

"A delayed effort to conserving the existing peat swamp forests will result in a potentially prolonged threat of forest fires," CIMTROP Director Suwido Limin told The Jakarta Post here.

CIMTROP, which was founded in 1998, is a non-governmental organization (NGO) specializing in peatland research. The NGO is affiliated with Palangka Raya University.

In its peatland management, CIMTROP has garnered partnerships with foreign organizations, including Hokkaido University in Japan, Nottingham University in Britain, the Global Peat Initiatives of The Netherlands and the Zoological Gardens of Australia.

Although the intensity of fires was reduced after rains last week, the people of Central Kalimantan, particularly those in the capital city of Palangka Raya, are still struggling against the choking haze which has plagued them over the past three months.

The rampant fires have threatened the integrity and long-term stability of the peatland ecosystem as well as the biodiversity.

CIMTROP has proposed that the peat swamp forests be allocated as a conservation enclave to help reduce the risk of catching fires.

Recalling the Mega Rice Project (MRP) during the Soeharto era, Suwido said that the launching of the project, which was then carried out along with the building of canals, deteriorated the peatland ecosystem.

The canals, about 2,000 kilometers in length, were constructed to help convert the area into farmland. Meanwhile, the campaign was a failure and the canals have speeded up drainage taking needed water away from the swampy ecosystems.

Nick Baker, a Nottingham University graduate specializing in geography, said in his presentation at the recent environment conference in Bali that the construction of canals promoted drainage and peat desiccation, which would result in major long- term changes to the peatland ecosystem.

"In its natural state, the peat is flooded for nine months of the year. The peat acts as a reservoir, storing water and slowly releasing it into the river.

"During the dry season the peat drains slowly. The construction of canals has severely altered this state," Baker said in his paper.

Baker was in Palangka Raya for a month studying the illegal logging and its environmental impact. The illegal logging, he says, contributed to fires.

"The peat that remains dry up to three months, significantly increases the risk of fire," he said.

A study shows that the MRP was an ecological disaster on a grand scale in which more than 20 percent of the peat swamp forest of Central Kalimantan was destroyed.

There is no update data about the extent of the peatland. The 1988 data showed there was 2.12 million hectares of peat swamp forest in Central Kalimantan, compared to 6.8 million hectares in Kalimantan.

The peat swamp forests in Central Kalimantan are found mostly in the southern part of the province, from Buntok in the east to Pangkalan Bun in the west.

Erna Shinta of the Palangka Raya-based Darwin Herbarium said that the Central Kalimantan was home to around 4,000 species of plants.

"A few of the species could face extinction due to the fires. That's why we are trying to collect as many as possible of all the species for possible research," she said, adding the Darwin Herbarium had collected samples of around 1,800 species in its laboratory.

Fires had been recurring annually, since the peat land was damaged, and unless the government moved quickly with preventive efforts, it would only worsen the situation, according to Suwido.

"But the conservation should aim at giving a commercial value for the local people," Suwido said.

Given the characteristic soil of the peat forests on which grow various plant species which have been the living sources of the local people for hundreds of years, the government is advised to carry out efforts to prevent those kinds of forest products from being lost.

A protected forest would also process necessary carbon dioxide (CO2), and would qualify for the carbon-credit concept, by which, according to Suwido, "Timber is sold without resorting to forest logging."

At the 1997 Kyoto Protocol meeting, the developed nations agreed to limit gas emissions, especially CO2 gases, but only by five percent. "As a compensation they are prepared to pay a sum of money to the tropical countries who conserve forests," Suwido said.

Valued at US$2 per hectare per year, the million hectare Sebangau Catchment, about 30 kilometers southwest of Palangka Raya, could generate US$2 million each year.

"That fund could be allocated for development. However, we have to show our commitment to preserving the forests," Suwido said.