Download Peatlands

UN-FCCC Bonn meeting 2 April 2009
Peatlands, carbon and climate change
Countries with most peat
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[email protected]
World wide 400 million ha
3% of global land area; 40% of all wetlands
In all climate zones; >150 countries
Indonesia 6 % of global peatlands
Peatlands occur everywhere … from the tundra …
Yakutia,
Russian
Federation
...to the tropics…
Berbak National
Park, Indonesia
… from the mountains …
Kyrgystan
Over permafrost
NWT, Canada
Under grasslands …
Sichuan, China
… along the rivers …
Kyrgystan
Ruaha River Tanzania
… to the sea …
Archangelsk, RF
…to the end of the Earth…
Tierra del Fuego
Argentina
What are peatlands?
• Peat: organic matter accumulated over thousands of
years, storing concentrated carbon in thick layers
Fens occur at groundwater level
Peat bogs accumulate peat above ground water levels
The peat bog is
rain water fed
Tropical peat swamp
forest
River
< 1m
Organic carbon
Mineral Soil
> 3m
Peat dome
River
Peatlands are water
Flow Country, Scotland
Peat, carbon and climate change
• Globally peatlands store 550 Giga ton (Gt) Carbon
• Equivalent to 30% of terrestrial carbon
– twice the carbon stored in forests
– 75% of all carbon in the atmosphere
• Global emissions 2 - 3 Gt CO2 / yr
~ half of LULUCF
Peatlands store large amounts of carbon
Peatland degradation leads to CO2 emissions
which contribute to global warming
Hotspots of CO2 emissions from drained peat
0.5% of land surface
~ 10% global emissions
~ almost half from Annex 1 countries
SE Asia:
~ 6 % of global emissions
• world’s main source area of
peat emissions
SE Asian peatland emissions disproportionately high
Peatland e xtent by region
(global total: 381 Mha; source: PEAT CO2)
SE Asia
Russia
N America
S.E. Asia (6% )
C. America (1% )
N. America (35% )
Africa (1% )
S. Asia
C. Europe (1% )
W. Europe (1% )
S. America (2% )
E. Asia (2% )
N.W. Europe (5% )
C. Asia (1% )
Russia (43% )
Australia Pac.
S. Europe
Middle East
CO2 emissions from oxidation in drained peatlands
(fires excluded), by region
(global total: 887 Mt/y; source: PEAT-CO2)
Indonesia
Malaysia
Indonesia (58%)
Other SE Asia (13%)
C. America (8%)
N. America (5%)
Africa (4%)
S. Asia (4%)
C. Europe (4%)
W. Europe (3%)
S. America (3%)
E. Asia (3%)
N.W. Europe (2%)
C. Asia (1%)
Russia (1%)
Australia Pac.
S. Europe
Middle East
6%
of global
peat area
50-70% of global peat
emissions
< 0.1% of global
land area
6%
of global
CO2 emissions
Peatland issues
• Deforestation
• Drainage
• Fires
Tropical peat 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
Peatland deforestation:
• since 2000: 1.5%/yr: twice the rate for non-peatlands
• currently 45% deforested
Peat forest conservation
• < 5% of total peatland area
Preliminary results
presented at UNFCCC CoP
Nairobi, 07-11-2006
Logging and drainage
• Channels used to
transport equipment
and logs
• Result in drainage
and oxidation of the
peat soil,
• Cause high
emissions of CO2
• Increased fire risks
Impact of drainage on peatlands
Relation between CO2 emission and watertable depth
CO2 emission (t / ha / yr)
100
Source: Alterra
Tropics
Temperate
Boreal
80
60
40
20
0
0
0.2
Source: Wösten, Alterra
0.4
0.6
average watertable depth (m)
0.8
• Drainage to 1 meter
= in tropics emission of 90 ton CO2/ha/yr
= temperate zone 30 ton CO2/ha/yr
1
Peat drainage increases the risk of fires
Tentative estimate of CO2 emissions from fires in Indonesia
C emission from peat fires
(CO2, Mt/y)
10000
8000
6000
Minimum estimate
(1.42 Gt/y average)
Maximum estimate
(4.32 Gt/y average)
4000
2000
0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Adapted from data provided by Siegert and Page
2003
2004
2005
2006
• Between 1997 and 2006 there were over 60,000 fires in peat
swamp areas on Borneo in 3 out of 10 years (1997, 1998, 2002)
• Most affected were deforested and drained peatlands
International impacts of fires
Smog and smoke
over SE-Asia
© NASA TOMS
22 Oktober 1997
Conversion SE Asian peat forest areas
Even when the rate of peatland conversion
decreases, annual peatland emissions will
continue to increase
This makes it a totally different ball game
from forests
Stopping the rate of conversion is not
enough. To decrease peatland emissions
eco-hydrological restoration (rewetting &
replanting) is necessary
Omissions in reporting on peat emissions
• Weak in both Annex 1 and non
Annex 1
• Peatlands unknown
• Drainage often not accurately
assessed
• IPCC default values underestimate emissions
• Emissions from extraction for
horticulture may remain
unreported
Omissions in reporting
• Agricultural fires assumed to
burn renewable biomass
• Ground water extraction and
offsite drainage not recognised
• Estonia, France, Germany,
Latvia, Poland and Romania
are not reporting emissions
from organic soils in general
• Bogs are placed under different
categories
• Unmanaged drained peatlands
ignored
Pros and contras for accounting of peat based
emissions and emission reductions under LULUCF
• No accounting? No incentive! 
• Mandatory accounting
– offsetting against fossil fuel 
– support for higher targets 
– creates incentives for reducing emissions from
peatland degradation 
As a result
• As a result, UNFCCC and Kyoto are overlooking a
large part of the 2000 – 3000 Mt CO2 emissions from
peat degradation
What if current lack of mechanisms is perpetuated?
Use of peat-based palm oil
as biofuel results in 3 to 10
times more emissions as
use of fossil fuels
REDD Recommendations
• Support developing countries
to reduce emissions
• Community-based
approaches
• Deforested peatlands
included
• Exclude drained plantations
• Exclude emission reductions
resulting from peatland
shrinkage
Needed
•Pro-poor development
•Community based mechanisms
•Address root causes of peatland
degradation
– illegal logging
– unsustainable development, e.g.
conversion to plantations
– perverse incentives
•Good governance/Green policy
•Financial incentives
– monetise international peatlands values
Biorights
PES
Priority 1
Restoration of hydrology of drained areas
Central Kalimantan, ex mega rice area
Priority No 2
Fire prevention & fighting
Priority # 3
Socio-economic development
Priority # 4: Re-greening degraded peatlands
• Planting useful
species
• Planting indigenous
species
• Fire resistant species
Priority # 5 Nature Conservation
Added value
Climate change mitigation
Biodiversity conservation
Poverty reduction
Reduced land degradation
A WIN4all
Rapid action is needed
Terima
kasih