Forests reduce methane emission

Forests reduce methane emission

BOGOR (JP): Forested land is good for absorbing methane, one
of the greenhouse gases that can lead to global warming, a
researcher from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture has found.

"It is estimated that up to 40 percent of methane emissions
can sink through forested soils," forest climatologist D.
Murdiyarso told journalists of his recent finding yesterday.

Methane is a colorless, odorless gas that occurs abundantly in
nature as the chief constituent of natural gas. It is also a
component of fire damp in coal mines and a product of the
anaerobic bacterial decomposition of vegetable matter under
water.

The gas is emitted into the atmosphere with the mining and
storing of coal, the extraction of oil and natural gas, the
incomplete combustion of certain fuels and leaking of natural
gas.

So far forest conservation has been encouraged to help reduce
carbon dioxide levels. Besides carbon dioxide, Murdiyarso noted
that methane is considered another important factor in the
increased warming near the earth's surface, referred to as the
"greenhouse effect" when the earth's atmosphere blocks the
sunrise.

The study is part of a country report on the inventories of
gas emissions and their reduction that are being carried out by
signatories to the Convention on Climate Change, including
Indonesia.

The Convention was issued at the Earth Summit in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992.

"With this finding (of methane reduction) we have at least
moved one step further," said Aca Sugandhy, assistant to the
Minister of Environment in charge of policy making, who opened a
two-day workshop on the inventory of emissions and the sinking of
greenhouse gases here yesterday.

Murdiyarso conducted his study in the Kerinci Seblat forests
of Jambi. He said he wants to continue the research for another
year.

He has also completed another study on methane emission from
wetland rice fields in Subang, West Java.

Wetland farming is considered one of the major human
activities contributing to methane emission, and is thus a
frequent indicator in global estimations.

Murdiyarso said methane emissions from wetland paddy fields
throughout Indonesia range from 1.07 to 6.48 terragrams a year.
One terragram is equal to a million tons.

"However I am optimistic that the average level is low, around
2 terragrams if emissions from rain-fed fields are combined," he
said.

Sugandhy said studies of technologies to reduce emissions of
methane have yet to be conducted.

Following the first conference of the Convention on Climate
Change in Berlin, held in April, Indonesia has received offers of
financial aid from a number of countries including the United
States, Australia and Germany, to conduct a 'joint
implementation' of the Convention.

Sugandhy said Indonesia has accepted the offers and will use
the money for more research.

"However it has been agreed that such assistance will not
bring a single credit point for these countries in their
responsibility to reduce their large portion of carbon dioxide
emission," Sugandhy said, referring to a major controversy in the
Berlin conference.

The workshop also heard other reports on gas emission
estimates in the sectors of agriculture, electricity and mining.
(anr)