Transcript Peatlands

PEAT SWAMP FORESTS
AND
PALM OIL
by
Marcel Silvius & Alex Kaat
Content of this presentation
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Where and what are peatlands
Peatland loss and carbon emissions
Biofuels, palm oil and peatland loss
What is / should be done
About Wetlands International
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Global NGO, 20 offices
Many years experience, peatland restoration
Research: global picture
In Europe, Russia, China, SE Asia, Africa,
Americas
• Network of scientists / organisations
• Involved in international policies
(CBD, UNFCCC, Ramsar)
What are peatlands?
Peatlands are wetlands where
waterlogging delays decay,
and dead plant materials form
an organic soil: peat soil
Peatlands
As a result of different climatic and biogeographic
conditions, a large diversity of peatland types exists
What is a peat swamp forest?
• Wetlands where waterlogging delays decay, and dead plant
materials form an organic soil: peat soil
• Lowland tropical forest peat bogs are dome-shaped
• Peat is accumulated above ground water levels
The peat bog is
rain water fed
Peat swamp forest
River
Organic matter
< 1m
River
> 3 - 25m
Mineral Soil
Most of the tropical peatlands are located in the
extensive lowland floodplains of South-east Asia
Tropical peat swamp forest in South-east Asia
• In natural un-drained conditions
tropical peatland soils contain 85% to
95% water and are poor in nutrients
Place in the water cycle
• Globally 10% of all fresh water is in peat
• Peatlands are the source areas of many rivers
Peatlands and carbon
• Globally peatlands store 450 Giga ton C
–75% of all carbon in the atmosphere
–90% of all carbon stored global plant biomass
–twice the carbon stored in forests
Canada
155 Mton C
Russia
138 Mton C
Indonesia
54 Mton C
Peatlands store large amounts of carbon
Peatland degradation leads to CO2 emissions
which contribute to global warming
Threatened carbon stores
• Globally peatlands store 550 Giga ton (Gt) Carbon
• Equivalent to 30% of terrestrial carbon
– 75% of all carbon in the atmosphere
– 90% of all carbon stored global plant biomass
– twice the carbon stored in forests
Canada
155 Mton C
Russia
138 Mton C
Indonesia
54 Mton C
Peatlands store large amounts of carbon
Peatland degradation leads to CO2 emissions
which contribute to global warming
December 2009, first global picture
Peat emissions
• Annual global emissions from peatlands 2 Gt CO2
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Drainage (1,3 Gt CO2),
Fire (>0,4 CO2) and mining
Drainage: emission figures widely agreed
Mining: No reliable data for many parts of the world
Top emissions:
- Indonesia
- EU
- Russia
- China
- USA
500 Mton CO2 drainage plus 400 Mton fires
174 Mton CO2
160 Mton CO2
77 mton CO2
69 Mton CO2
Peatland loss
• Deforestation
• Drainage for
plantations (palm oil)
• Fires
Peat swamp forest deforestation
100.00
99.00
98.00
97.00
96.00
95.00
Total forest decline
Peat forest decline
94.00
93.00
92.00
91.00
90.00
19
99
1
20 2
00
1
20 2
01
12
20
02
1
20 2
03
1
20 2
04
1
20 2
05
12
Area remaining since 1999 (%)
Relative total vs PSF area decline Insular SE Asia
Year
Preliminary results
presented at UNFCCC CoP
Nairobi, 07-11-2006
Peatland deforestation:
• since 2000: 1.5%/yr which is double the rate for non-peatlands
• currently 45% deforested
Peat forest conservation
• < 5% of total peatland area
CO2 emissions as a result of drainage
Relation between CO 2 emission and watertable depth
CO2 emission (t / ha / yr)
100
Source: Alterra
Tropics
Temperate
Boreal
80
60
40
20
0
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
average watertable depth (m)
0.8
1
• Drainage to 80 cm = emission of 70 ton CO2/ha/year
• Current emissions SE Asian drained peats: 560 Mt CO2/yr
CO2 emissions from SE Asian peat fires
Tentative estimate of CO2 emissions from fires in Indonesia
C emission from peat fires
(CO2, Mt/y)
10000
Minimum estimate
(1.42 Gt/y average)
8000
Maximum estimate
(4.32 Gt/y average)
6000
4000
2000
0
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Adapted from data provided by Siegert and Page
• Between 1997 and 2006 there were over 60,000 fires in Borneo
peat swamp areas in 3 out of 10 years (1997, 1998, 2002)
• Most affected were deforested and drained peatlands
CO2 emissions from SE Asian peat fires
• Average annual CO2
emissions from peatland
fires, assessed over a
ten year period (between
1997 – 2006) is
estimated between
- a minimal average of
400 Mt CO2/y
Background: why peatland drainage leads to
CO2 emissions?
Stream
channel
Stream
channel
Intact peat:
• water table near surface allows accumulation of
organic matter (carbon sink)
Peat dome
ΔL
Clay / sand
Background: why does peatland drainage lead
to CO2 emissions?
Drainage lowers water table and dries the peat
Background: why does peatland drainage lead
to CO2 emissions?
When the water table is lowered and the peat dries,
oxigen will react with the organic material and form Carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions through:
– decomposition (rotting)
– fires
CO2
CO2
Background: why does peatland drainage lead
to CO2 emissions?
• The peat soil will subside as a result of loss of
water, compaction and loss of matter (through
CO2 emission).
• The subsidence will only stop when the peat is
‘rewetted’.
• Without rewetting the peat will disappear
Some facts and figures
Peatlands in SE Asia:
< 0,1 % of global land area
1000 million tonnes
emitted annually
Equivalent to 3 % of total
global emissions
A concentrated problem…
Peat and palm oil
Palm oil prospects
• Major interest to expand palm oil in response to the
international biofuel market
• Indonesia: 20 to 25% oil palm estates on peat
• Malaysia: 13.5% oil palm estates on peat
• Over 50% of newly planned palm oil is on peat
• Impacts on surrounding landscape ignored
Palm oil, a very attractive crop
Biofuel targets: millions of ha oil palms
Palm oil: rapid growth; mainly SE Asia
Palm oil: rapid growth; mainly SE Asia
CIFOR: Palm oil is a driver of deforestation
Peatlands are attractive for palm oil
Where peat is…
• Sumatra:
7.2 mill ha
• Kalimantan: 5.8 mill ha
• Papua:
8 mill ha
• Total:
21 mill ha
Is palm oil
Why peatlands are so attractive
Emissions especially peatswamp forest
Peat makes the difference
Controversy about the emissions from peat?
Indonesia: Little dispute about the
drainage & emissions figures
Malaysia: Campaigning for palm on peat
Source: Global Oils & Fats Business Magazine, Vol 4. Issue 2. 2007
Malaysian Palm Oil Council: “A direct comparison of peat forest
and oil palm plantations found slightly higher emissions from
peat forests” (Corley 2007).
Possible causes for higher emissions for peat forests in Melling’s study:
– Only soil emissions were measured, not the ecosystem carbon balance
– More vegetation biomass will have higher respiration rates and thus more
CO2 release from the living root system.
– Among other potential contributing factors is the fact that the peat swamp
forest studied was degraded
Legislation, policies, guidelines
•In addition, peat fires cause another 400 MtCO2/yr
Are global policies reducing peatland loss?
Global:
• REDD: protecting peatswamp forests or
supporting plantations?
• RSPO: no criteria for peat;
still working on peat and GHG criteria
• CDM: biodiesel from degraded lands
Answer: Not at this moment.
Are national policies reducing peatland loss?
Malaysia:
– dependent on the province
– rapid conversion to palm oil in Sarawak
Indonesia:
– palm oil on peat less than 3 meters deep
– 25% may deviate from this rule
Ref: Ministerial decree on Agriculture
No.14/Permentan/PL.110/2/2009)
– Recently strong government recommendations to
save peatlands for their carbon
Ref: DNPI & BAPPENAS December 2009
• Answer for now: No.
What needs to be done for biofuels
• Proper calculation of land use emissions (IPCC
2006 guidelines)
• Indirect land use factor
• Globally: Exclude peatlands for production of
biofuels
‘Continuously forested areas’
“..namely land covering more than 1 ha. with trees
higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than
30%, or trees able to reach those thresholds in situ.”
• Political reason for this exclusion is biodiversity and
carbon…
• Plantations have little biodiversity value, far less
carbon storage.
So:
• Exclude conversion to plantations  seeded or planted
tree crops on previous natural forest areas.
• An (oil) palm is not a tree. A palm oil plantation should
thus never be considered a forest.
‘Wetlands’ and the Directive
Directive: “Namely land that is covered with or
saturated by water permanently or for a significant part
of the year.”
For biofuel production, exclude areas:
• that became drained after 2008, or
• where the ecological character has changed.
Ecological character:
“combination of the ecosystem components,
processes and benefits/services that characterises the
wetland at a given point in time” (Convention on Wetlands,
Ramsar 1971)
Conclusions
• Palm oil plantations are rapidly expanding in Malaysia and
Indonesia due to increasing global demands for vegetable oil. Part
of this is caused by the expected opportunities in the biofuel
market.
• Current national legislation does not protect carbon rich
ecosystems (forests, peatlands).
• Many tropical peatlands are being reclaimed and drained for palm
oil; annual expansion 150,000 – 200,000 ha per year in SE Asia
• Whether in intact peatswamp forests of in logged areas, additional
emissions caused by the plantations are significant, adding tens of
tons of carbon dioxide per hectare per year.
• Emissions from drained peatland areas continue for decades or
even centuries (depending on peat depth) until the entire stock is
gone.
• Several studies are conducted on the impact of drainage of
peatlands on greenhouse gas emissions. While average emission
totals of the irregular and fluctuating peatland fires occurrences
are under discussion, there is widespread consensus on the
emissions from peat decomposition due to drainage.