Indonesia's Peat Smoulders Underground

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

http://forests.org/

11/15/97

OVERVIEW, SOURCE & COMMENTARY by EE

The Environment News Service reports on the Indonesian fires. Though

somewhat dissipated, the crisis is not yet over. Following is a good

synopsis of recent events. The author used the Forest Archives at

http://forests.org/ as a source for the article. There are over 50

articles relating to the Indonesian forest crisis in

http://forests.org/forests/indonesia.html

g.b.

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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

Title: Indonesia's Peat Smoulders Underground

Source: Environment News Service

reprint

Date: November 13, 1997

Byline: Claire Gilber, Ph.D.

SARAWAK, Malaysia, November 13, 1997 (ENS) - For the first time in

three months, the air is clear. People in parts of Southeast Asia

breathed more easily as good winds and rain cleared the air of a

lot of the damaging particles from forest fires burning out of

control in Indonesia. The monsoon rain which would dampen the fires

has been delayed because of El Nino effects.

The correct name of El Nino is "El Nino Southern Oscillation" or

"ENSO." The oscillation refers to the normal flow of tropical

ocean water either hitting a standstill or being reversed.

The El Nino effect has piled up heated ocean waters in the eastern

Pacific Ocean along the west coast of South America and brought

colder water to the Indonesian Pacific.

This means lower relative humidity for 12,500 Indonesia islands,

and conditions adverse to rainfall. Despite yesterday's stormy

downpour, the Pacific Ocean is still noticeably cooler than normal,

according to a map prepared by the U.S. Fleet Numerical Meteorology

and Oceanography Center today. During the worst air pollution

events, the air tends to be stable due to an inversion layer near

the surface from the cool surroundings, making smoke from fires

"localize."

Cyclone Linda recently fanned the forest and peat flames. New

forest fires were also reported within the week. Burning peat,

itself, may be a catastrophe of major proportions.

From satellites, 2 hot spots are currently seen in Java, 23 in

Sumatra, and 35 In Kalimantan, Indonesia. The latter shares Borneo

Island with the Country of Brunei and also Malaysia, including

Sarawak. On September 25, Sarawak had a reading of 800 on its air

quality index. Over 100 (or less) can affect some people adversely.

Reacting to the air pollution crisis, Tze-Hien (Clarence) Yong of

Kuching, Malaysia, set up a web site which gives daily readings on

the haze for a number of cities and a lot of other useful

information. He created the "Haze Online Report"

<http://www.vensara.com/haze/> when Sarawak declared a state of

emergency on September 22. Yong proudly says, "We were the first

one reporting the disaster on the Internet."

The haze was already present for a month or longer before it caught

the world's attention when it skyrocketed in late September.

Sarawak, Malaysia, is downwind of the Indonesian forest fires and

gets the brunt of the haze.

MILLION PEOPLE AT RISK

The pollutants in the smoke from forest and ground fires are still

threatening the health of some 20 million Indonesians, the Suara

Pembaruan daily quoted Suryoputro of Diponegoro University as

saying. The deputy-dean of the medical faculty said up to five

percent of 20 million people had already been affected. The impact

on others will only be seen between two and 10 years from now.

Further, he told the Indonesia Times, pollutants could exacerbate

heart and asthma problems, while causing mental and brain

disorders, inflammation and respiratory infections, skin and eye

allergies.

According to Forrest Mims, III, a scientific investigator, as a

result of the forest fires in Indonesia, there is an increase of

certain infectious diseases in the haze areas. This is also true in

areas affected by the forest fires in the Amazon. The increase in

infectious diseases appears to be correlated with a significant

reduction of ultra violet rays.

THE WEATHER SPEECH POLICE ARE WATCHING

In recent days, Malaysia has "gagged" academics. They are no longer

permitted to make public comments on forest fires and the weather

without first clearing them with a supervisor. Ostensibly, the

reason is for accuracy in reporting, but some see this as an

abridgement of freedom of speech.

Jacqui Michel works in Sarawak for Research Planning, Inc., a U.S.

firm hired by the Malaysian government to help it plan a response

strategy to the haze, such as advising people to stay in during a

crisis. Michel says that Malaysia has a "response strategy" rather

than a preventative one.

PEAT BURNING SENDS CARBON SKY-HIGH

The main air quality problem in Sarawak is particles rather than

gases from the forest fires, Michel says. One reason there is so

much particulate matter is that peat swamps are burning in

Indonesia, and they throw up a lot of carbon.

Lawrence Radke, a Senior Scientist at the U.S. National Center for

Atmospheric Research, was one of the primary researchers who

studied the oil fire smoke in Kuwait. He specializes in the study

of forest fire behavior. He says, with regard to protecting oneself

from a malignant haze, "A simple 3-M dust/mist mask can help

considerably to keep out the particles and gases from haze, lasts

a long time, and is cheap." It costs about US$4.00.

The amount of carbon these extensive peat fires can throw up into

the atmosphere is enormous, exceeding that of what Europe emits.

The emissions may also impact global warming in a positive feedback

loop - they will also make the forest burn more. When forests and

peat marshes are normal, they are a good carbon "sink," i.e., they

keep a lot of carbon from being in the atmosphere, helping to

prevent global warming.

Peat fires are considered the most dangerous. Peat has accumulated

in lowland areas for 7,000 or more years and may be 20 feet deep.

When undisturbed, it serves to store rain during the monsoon

season, and slowly releases the moisture back into the air during

drier times. When heavy rains occur, the peat prevents flooding by

acting like a sponge.

The Center for International Forestry Research at Bogor, near

Jakarta, says the main pollution on Borneo was now coming from a

fire in a one million hectare area of peat being drained by the

government for a massive rice planting project. President Suharto

backs this project, intended to ensure Indonesia's self-sufficiency

in rice production.

When the peat is exposed, it quickly dries out. Once dry, it

ignites easily. Once burning, sometimes the fire goes deeply into

the earth and then cannot be extinguished, even by heavy rain.

There are still peat fires burning in the earth from 1983,

presumably when the last severe El Nino hit. Rain does not

extinguish deep peat or coal fires. They smoulder, like

self-combustion, underground indefinitely.

The current El Nino may be even stronger than the one in 1982-

1983, which some say was the strongest on record. It is possible

that overall global warming or climate change has increased the

frequency and severity of these El Nino events.

The action of burning forests (or even clearing them) may have

local, regional, and global effects. Forests act to hold carbon and

when the forest is destroyed, the result is more carbon and

greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Removing forests heats up the

local area somewhat. In the case of a huge release of carbon by

burning peat, the regional and global climate is also affected.

Possibly when the monsoon comes, it will cause flooding or serious

acid rain. The monsoon may be delayed for a couple of months or may

not occur at all because of El Nino.

TERROR FOR WILDLIFE

According to the World Conservation Monitoring Center, the fires in

Indonesia are now threatening at least 19 protected areas, all

internationally important, including a World Heritage site (Ujung

Kulon in Java), Ramsar Wetland (Berbak in Sumatra) and Biosphere

Reserve (Tanjung Puting in Kalimantan). These areas are protected

partly because they hold the world's biodiversity riches. The

forest fires are also a terror for wildlife.

A large number of endangered species are in the path of the fires.

Fruit-eating animals and birds such as orangutans and hornbills are

especially affected by fire, because the trees that they rely on

take many years to mature and fruit. These two species, like many

others, are already under tremendous pressure from severe habitat

loss.

Indonesia's Environment Minister, Sarwono Kusumaatmaja, said the

country's forests could take 500 years to recover from damage

caused by fires and logging, according to Michael Mundy, a

journalist in Kuala Lumpur.

Deliberately burning forests in the tropics in an El Nino year is

tricky business. The burning easily gets out of control. This puts

more carbon and other greenhouse gases in the air, putting more

pressure on climate change. Climate change can lead to still

stronger weather events, including El Ninos.

Malaysia has signed a regional agreement with other countries for

the purpose of managing forests and other resources better. The

general philosphy of Indonesia and neighbors, however, may be that

development is a trade off with the environment.

Radke says we need to look more at the consequences of what we do

instead of just the immediate actions, such as clearing forests or

swamps. He says, "Whenever you fool with factors that affect the

environment, some kind of changes will happen."

*Claire Gilbert is editor and publisher of a monthly health and

environment newsletter, Blazing Tattles, available by subscription.

Visit Blazing Tattles' Web Site for information

<http://www.concentric.net/~blazingt> or send email to:

<blazing@igc.apc.org>. Thank you very much.

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