Review of

environmental and

social impacts of oil

palm on peat

by

Marcel Silvius

Mineral SoilRiver RiverOrganic matter

Peat: organic matter accumulated over thousands of years

storing carbon in thick layers

Peatlands are wetlands where waterlogging delays decay, and

dead plant materials form an organic soil: peat soil

What are peatlands?

A peat bog is rain

water fed

Peat swamp forest

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 servicesTropical 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 CO2 per annum (25% increase since 1990)

• 6% of global emissions

Peatlands store large amounts of carbon Peatland degradation leads to CO2 emissions

which contribute to global warming

All in the balance

Water

PlantsPeat

Peatland

Intense relationship “plants”, “water”, and “peat”

This makes peatlands vulnerable & difficult to manage

Peatland issues

• Deforestation

• Drainage

• Fires

Peat swamp deforestation

Peatland deforestation:

In SE Asia:

• 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

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

1999

12

2000

12

2001

12

2002

12

2003

12

2004

12

2005

12

Year

Are

a r

em

ain

ing

sin

ce

19

99

Total forest decline

Peat forest decline

Preliminary results

presented at UNFCCC CoP

Nairobi, 07-11-2006

(%)

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

• Drainage of 60- 80 cm = emission of 50-70 tCO2/ha/yr

• When drained, peatlands become increasingly

vulnerable to fires

Relation between CO2 emission and watertable depth

0

20

40

60

80

100

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

average watertable depth (m)

CO

2 e

mis

sio

n (t

/ h

a /

yr)

Tropics

Temperate

Boreal

Source: Alterra

Source: Wösten, Alterra

Drainage leads to subsidence

CO2 CO2

CO2

CO2 CO2

Emissions and peat loss

will continue until no

further drainage is

possible or when the

peat is finished

Peat dome

Clay / sand

CO2

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

The Air Hitam Laut exampleExample landscape impact

Sungai Air Hitam laut, Jambi

Upstream oil palm

developments

Air Hitam Laut river, Jambi, Sumatra

CO2 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

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)

Hotspots of CO2 emissions from drained peat

Annual global peatland emissions 2 Giga ton CO2

Russia

160 MtEU

174 Mt

115 Mt

Central Asia

USA

72 Mt

1000 Mt

SE Asia

Disproportionate impact

Peatlands

in SE Asia< 0,1 % of global land area

1 GT CO2 emitted annually

3 % of total global

emissions

A concentrated problem…

Impacts of peatland

degradation in South-

east Asia

Impacts on people

Biodiversity

loss

Poverty Climate

Change

Land / Water

Degradation

Tropical peatlands are most rapidly degrading

Major socio-economic consequences

• Floods

• Droughts

• Loss of natural resource assets

• Economics

• Public health

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 & over-

exploitation

Social impacts

• 30% of children under 5 have

respiratory illnesses and

stunted growth

• High poverty rates

Smog and smoke

over SE-Asia

22 Oktober 1997

International tensions

© NASA TOMS

Malaysia in September 2005

Sustainability issue

Palm oil production on peat:

– Emissions from drainage 50-70 t CO2/ha

– Use as biofuel (3 - 6 tonnes CPO per ha/year) compensates 9 - 18 t CO2

from fossil fuels

– Palm oil from peat as a biofuel thus results in 3-8 times more CO2 emissionsthan use of fossil fuels

EU RED: No biofuels from wetlands and peat

Crop Emission tCO2/TJ Fuel Emission tCO2/TJ

Palm oil 600 Fuel oil 73.3

Alternative development

• Consider other development options

• Potential of carbon marketing

• Palm oil plantations as buffer zones for HCVF

• Tourism

Large scale developments in peatlands only after

thorough long term research, social and

environmental impact assessment, cost-benefit

analysis, and pilot projects

Consider use of the Precautionary Principle