Download 0.81-2.57 Pg C - Global Carbon Project

Tropical Peatlands:
Global Impacts, Regional Vulnerability and
Local Adaptation
Pep Canadell1, Daniel Murdiyarso2, Faizal Parish3
1_GCP International Project Office, CSIRO, Canberra, Australia
2_CIFOR-CGIAR, Bogor, Indonesia
3_Global Environment Centre, Selangor, Malaysia
Global Peatland Distribution
450 Pg C
42 Million ha (10%)
(GACGC, 2000)
Page et al. 2004
Global Peatland Distribution
450 Pg C
60%
Borneo
Sumatra
West Papua
Thailand
(GACGC, 2000)
Tropical Peatlands in Indonesia
• 20 M ha are in Indonesia
• Stocks of up to 50 Pg C
• Formed over a period of
10,000 year (10K-35K)
• Depth ranges 1-12 m (max.
20 m)
• Store 5,800 t C/ha (> 10 x
tropical forests)
Page et al. 2002; Others
Fire & Haze from Sumatra and Kalimantan-El Niño 1997-98
Carbon Emissions:
0.81-2.57 Pg C
Area burned:
>8 M ha
11 September 1997
Page et al. 2002
Carbon Released from 1997-98 Indonesian Fires
Emissions
0.81-2.57 Pg C
Equivalent to:
13-40% annual FF
emissions
Comparable to:
Net terrestrial Sink
(1-3 Pg C yr-1)
Page et al. 2002
Spatial Distribution of the CO2 Growth Perturbations
Flux Anomalies El Nino (June 1997-May 1998 [gC/m2/yr])
Flux Anomalies La Nina (Oct 1998-Sept 1999 [gC/m2/yr])
Rodenbeck et al. 2003
Attribution of the CO2 Growth Perturbation
• The ratios of CO2 to H, CH4,
CO (fire) for the globe:
0.8 – 3.7 Pg C
• δ13CO2 tells how much of the
increased fire emissions are
due to emissions from
forested regions (mostly C3
plants) versus tropical-subtrp.
savannas dominated by C4
δ13C in C3 plants more negative than C4
Langenfelds et al. 2002, Randerson et al. 2005
Large Global Impacts from Small Regions
Atmospheric CO2
Growth Rate
Indonesia: 8 M ha
(Ruitenbeek 1999)
High C density of the peatland which
dominates many swamps lowland forests
South America: >10 M ha
(Barbosa & Fearnside1999)
Why this disproportionate (to the area) impact?
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
El Niño events
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
Why this disproportionate (to the area) impact?
This type of events also occurred in tropical
Amazonia and Australia but not as serious as in
Indonesia
Why so intense in Indonesia?
1. Because what burned was one of the highest
carbon-density region in the world, ie, peatland
which dominates many swamps lowland forests
Store 5,800 t C/ha (> 10 x tropical forests)
Interaction with Use of Fire
• Pests and weeds control
• The economic value of
the biomass ‘waste’ is so
low
• Fire is the cheapest method
for land clearing
• Smallholders’ wood
pricing discourages
producers
• Fire can add ash that
temporarily improve soil
conditions
Courtesy of Daniel Murdiyarso
Interactions with two other Human-Driven Changes
2. Collapse of Suharto government (1998) and
associated socio-economic problems
Rapid escalation of illegal logging activities
Needs of agricultural land expansion
Growing oil-palm and pulpwood industries
Unclear tenure systems
++Fire
3. Loss of self-sufficiency in rice production in
Indonesia
Mega Rice Project (1995)
–
–
–
Over-drainage
Biomass burning
People immigrations and
human settlements
++Fire
The Mega Rice Project – Central Kalimantan
•
In 1995, 1 Million ha of Central Kalimantan
(Borneo) were cut down to be replaced by rice
paddies to serve as the rice bowl of an ever
growing Indonesian population.
•
4,600 km of canals to drain the region.
•
Tens of thousands of landless Javanese were
brought in to tend the Mega Rice Project.
Aldhous 2004
The Mega Rice Project – Central Kalimantan
•
The drainage made the soil too dry and the
peat turned to be too acid for rice to grow.
•
The project was abandoned and many
immigrants fled Borneo, leaving a legacy of fire
that returns each year during the dry season,
from July to late October.
•
Even without fire, drained peatlands are a
source of CO2 for many years.
Amazonia
Fire Rotation
% Forest
Indonesia
Distance from road (m)
Cochrane 2003
Decreasing Peatland Area (Mha)
1990
2002
35-40
25-30
Sumatra
7.2
6.5
Kalimantan
8.4
?
Indonesia
20
17
Southeast Asia
Courtesy of Daniel Murdiyarso
Negative Impacts to Local and Regional Development
The massive increase global GHG emissions could have been an
unperceived and to some extent irrelevant event to the region, except for
the fact that fires and haze did bring many negative impacts home:
• The haze extended across Southeast Asia, and cost more
than US$4.5 billion in lost tourism and business
• Smoke caused hundreds of deaths in smoke related
accidents, including ship, automobile and plane crashes
• Thousands more died from smoke-related illnesses
• Unrest with Native communities due to establishment of
megaprojects and subsequent failure.
• Lost of freshwater resources, largely fishing, important to
local communities.
• Transmigration reversed and people fled back to Java
Vulnerabilities of Peatlands-Carbon-Climate System
Perturbation
of the Climate System
(warming)
(+)
Vulnerable
C Pools
C
Emissions
Vulnerabilities of Peatlands-Carbon-Climate System
Perturbation
of the Climate System
(warming)
Land Use
X
(+)
Vulnerable
C Pools
C
Emissions
Vulnerabilities of Peatlands-Carbon-Climate System
Perturbation
of the Climate System
(warming)
Land Use
X
(+)
Vulnerable
C Pools
C
Emissions
Haze
Drought
Freshwater Res.
Forest Resources
Vulnerabilities of Peatlands-Carbon-Climate System
Perturbation
of the Climate System
(warming)
(-)
X
(+) (-)
Vulnerable
C Pools
C
Emissions
Land Use
Haze
Drought
Freshwater Res.
Forest Resources
Negative
Impacts
to Local &
Regional
Communities
Building Resilience
• Mitigation (restoring)
• Adaptation (preserving)
Instruments available:
• Local and Regional
• National and International
Local and Regional Scale Instruments and Options
For Protection of the swamp forest
By providing attractive livelihood options to local communities
with income generating activities consistent with
sustainable management of peatlands:
– Traditional forest-based fish ponds and river fishing
– Alternative fire-free agriculture
– Timber and non-timber forest products
• Latex
• Rattan
• Firewood
National and International Policy Instruments
for Rehabilitation and Protection of peatlands
• ASEAN Regional Action Plan on Transboundary Haze
• Rio-Agenda 21 on Sustainable Development
• International Conventions:
– Ramsar - wetlands
• Conservation and restoration of peatlands
– FCCC - climate change
•
•
•
•
No obligation of Indonesia to reduce GHG emissions under Kyoto
It is a signatory of Kyoto Protocol
Clean Development Mechanisms – carbon trading – reforestation credits
Non-Kyoto mechanisms – credits for emission avoidance (credits for not
deforesting)
– CBD – biodiveristy
• Conservation of ecosystems for conservation of biodiversity
Vulnerabilities of Peatlands-Carbon-Climate System
Tropical Peatlands
• SE Asia Tropical Peatland Synthesis:
• Carbon stocks
• Drivers of change
• Biogeochemical modeling
• Input into GCMs
APN project (2005-06)
• Tropical forests and climate change
adaptation: criteria and indicators for
adaptive management for reduced
vulnerability and long-term sustainability
EU project (2005-2008)
• Regional Climate (Dickinson) and Land
Use Change (?) Scenarios
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