PEAT SWAMP FORESTS AND

PALM OIL

byMarcel Silvius & Alex Kaat

Content of this presentation

• Where and what are peatlands• Peatland loss and carbon emissions• Biofuels, palm oil and peatland loss• What is / should be done

About Wetlands International

• 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 Peatlands are wetlands where waterlogging delays waterlogging delays decay,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

Mineral Soil

River River

< 1m> 3 - 25m

Peat swamp forest

Organic matter

Most of the tropical peatlands are located in the extensive lowland floodplains of South-east Asia

• Wetlands where waterlogging delays Wetlands where waterlogging delays decay,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

What is a peat swamp forest?

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

Peatlands store large amounts of carbon Peatland degradation leads to CO2 emissions which contribute to global warming

• 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

December 2009, first global picture

Peat emissions

• Annual global emissions from peatlands 2 Gt CO2

• 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 500 Mton CO2 drainage plus 400 Mton fires

- EU 174 Mton CO2

- Russia 160 Mton CO2

- China 77 mton CO2

- USA 69 Mton CO2

Peatland loss• Deforestation• Drainage for

plantations (palm oil)• Fires

Peat swamp forest deforestation

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

Relative total vs PSF area decline Insular SE Asia

90.00

91.00

92.00

93.00

94.00

95.00

96.00

97.00

98.00

99.00

100.00

Year

Are

a re

mai

ning

sin

ce 1

999

Total forest decline

Peat forest decline

Preliminary results presented at UNFCCC CoP

Nairobi, 07-11-2006

(%)

CO2 emissions as a result of drainage

• Drainage to 80 cm = Drainage to 80 cm = emission of 70 ton COemission of 70 ton CO22/ha/year/ha/year• Current emissions SE Asian drained peats: 560 Mt CO2/yr

Relation between CO2 emission and watertable depth

0

20

40

60

80

100

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1average watertable depth (m)

CO

2 em

issio

n (t

/ h

a /

yr)

Tropics

Temperate

Boreal

Source: Alterra

CO2 emissions from SE Asian peat fires

• 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

Tentative estimate of CO2 emissions from fires in Indonesia

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

C e

mis

sio

n f

rom

pe

at

fire

s

(CO

2, M

t/y

)

Minimum estimate(1.42 Gt/y average)

Maximum estimate(4.32 Gt/y average)

Adapted from data provided by Siegert and Page

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?

Intact peat: • water table near surface allows accumulation of organic matter (carbon sink)

ΔLClay / sand

Peat dome

Str

eam

ch

anne

l

Str

eam

ch

anne

l

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 CO 2 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

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

Source: Global Oils & Fats Business Magazine, Vol 4. Issue 2. 2007

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.