Fires prompt call for the conservasion of peat forests

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.