by Marcel Silvius Review of environmental and social impacts of oil palm on peat

by Marcel Silvius Review of environmental and social impacts of oil palm on peat

What are peatlands? Peatlands are wetlands where waterlogging delays decay, and dead plant materials form an organic soil: peat soil Peat: organic matter accumulated over thousands of years storing carbon in thick layers A peat bog is rain water fed Peat swamp forest River Mineral Soil Organic matter River

Peatlands represent a key part of global biodiversity Different climatic and biogeographic conditions have resulted in many peatland types including the tropical peat swamp forests of South-east Asia

Ecosystem services Tropical lowland peat swamp forest High biodiversity Water regulation & provision Carbon storage Drought mitigation Prevention saline intrusion Income diversification Fish Wood / timber Rattan Tourism

Peatlands in the water cycle Peatlands perform key role in watersheds of many rivers Important role in water storage and supply Crucial for mitigation of droughts and floods Globally 10% of all freshwater is in peat

Peatlands are threatened carbon stores Globally peatlands store 550 Giga ton (Gt) C Equivalent to 30% of terrestrial carbon 75% of all carbon in the atmosphere twice the carbon stored in all forests of the world 15% (or 50 million ha) is threatened and degrading releasing 2 Gt CO 2 per annum (25% increase since 1990) 6% of global emissions Peatlands store large amounts of carbon Peatland degradation leads to CO 2 emissions which contribute to global warming

All in the balance Water Peatland Peat Plants Intense relationship plants, water, and peat This makes peatlands vulnerable & difficult to manage

Peatland issues Deforestation Drainage Fires

Area remaining since 1999 (%) Peat swamp deforestation Relative total vs PSF area decline Insular SE Asia 100.00 99.00 98.00 97.00 96.00 95.00 94.00 93.00 92.00 91.00 90.00 Total forest decline Peat forest decline Peatland deforestation: In SE Asia: 199912 200012 200112 200212 200312 Year 200412 200512 Preliminary results presented at UNFCCC CoP Nairobi, 07-11-2006 1.5% per year or double the rate for non-peatlands Currently > 50% deforested and < 5% protected In Sarawak: Deforestation of all forest types: 2% per year Peat swamp deforestation: 8% per year In 2005 2009: 287,362 ha or 27% were deforested

Logging and fire susceptibility Well managed forests are much less susceptible to fire Logging and drainage dramatically increase fire risk Earlier burned areas have very high fire risk

Drainage SE Asian peat swamp areas A total of about 13 million ha of SE Asian peat swamps have been drained for agriculture and agro-forestry, including over 2 million hectares for oil palm.

Impact of drainage of tropical peatlands CO2 emission (t / ha / yr) 100 80 60 Relation between CO 2 emission and watertable depth Tropics Temperate Boreal Source: Alterra 40 20 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 Source: Wösten, Alterra average watertable depth (m) Drainage of 60-80 cm = emission of 50-70 tco 2 /ha/yr When drained, peatlands become increasingly vulnerable to fires

Drainage leads to subsidence CO 2 CO 2 Peat dome Clay / sand CO 2 CO 2 Emissions and peat loss will continue until no further drainage is possible or when the peat is finished CO 2 CO 2

Impacts of upstream peatland drainage for oil palm: Diversion of half of the catchment area 50% reduction of river flow Increased saltwater intrusion Decrease of freshwater availability to agriculture downstream Enhanced acidification of Acid Sulphate soils Example landscape impact Sungai The Air Air Hitam Hitam Laut laut, example Jambi Upstream oil palm developments Air Hitam Laut river, Jambi, Sumatra

C emission from peat fires (CO2, Mt/y) CO 2 emissions from SE Asian peat fires In Borneo, between 1997 and 2006 there were over 60,000 fires in peat swamp areas in 3 out of 10 years (1997, 1998, 2002) Most affected were deforested and drained peatlands 10000 8000 6000 Tentative estimate of CO2 emissions from fires in Indonesia Minimum estimate (1.42 Gt/y average) Maximum estimate (4.32 Gt/y average) 4000 2000 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Hotspots of CO 2 emissions from drained peat Annual global peatland emissions 2 Giga ton CO2 USA 72 Mt EU 174 Mt Russia 160 Mt 115 Mt Central Asia 1000 Mt SE Asia

Disproportionate impact Peatlands in SE Asia < 0,1 % of global land area 1 GT CO 2 emitted annually 3 % of total global emissions A concentrated problem

Impacts of peatland degradation in Southeast Asia

Impacts on people Tropical peatlands are most rapidly degrading Major socio-economic consequences Floods Droughts Loss of natural resource assets Economics Public health Biodiversity loss Poverty Land / Water Degradation Climate Change

Economics of 1997/98 peat fires 1,5 2,2 million ha peat swamp forest burned 1108 flights cancelled in Indonesia, Singapore & Malaysia Economic damage by smoke: > 1.4 billion US$ Economic losses (tourism & timber) > 7 billion US$

Socio-economic impact of peatland fires on people Hundred thousands of hospitalisations and outpatient treatments Millions of working & school days lost Natural resource base, business and property loss (US$ 8.4 billion) Enhanced poverty: more over-exploitation Social & ethnic tensions Vicious cycle of environmental degradation & overexploitation

Social impacts 30% of children under 5 have respiratory illnesses and stunted growth High poverty rates

Malaysia in September 2005 International tensions Smog and smoke over SE-Asia NASA TOMS 22 Oktober 1997

Sustainability issue Crop Emission tco2/tj Fuel Emission tco2/tj Palm oil 600 Fuel oil 73.3 Palm oil production on peat: Emissions from drainage 50-70 t CO 2 /ha Use as biofuel (3-6 tonnes CPO per ha/year) compensates 9-18 t CO 2 from fossil fuels Palm oil from peat as a biofuel thus results in 3-8 times more CO 2 emissions than use of fossil fuels EU RED: No biofuels from wetlands and peat

Alternative development Consider other development options Potential of carbon marketing Palm oil plantations as buffer zones for HCVF Tourism

Consider use of the Precautionary Principle Large scale developments in peatlands only after thorough long term research, social and environmental impact assessment, cost-benefit analysis, and pilot projects