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With loss of Indonesia's forests, a litany of problems
Jakarta Globe - May 2, 2014
Indeed, the deforestation rate in Indonesia has increased from about 10,000 square kilometers per year in 2000-03, to nearly 20,000 square kilometers per year between by 2011-12.
The group of scientists who conducted the study consisted of researchers from 15 universities, led by Matthew Hansen, a professor of geographical science from the University of Maryland. Their observations were published in the journal Science last year.
The issue of deforestation in Indonesia has grown more serious than ever before. The environmental damage that deforestation has caused and continues to cause in Indonesia has given rise to more frequent floods, permanent land subsidence and the demise of endangered animals. Increased deforestation also contributes to rising temperatures in the archipelago.
"The argument is always... we need economic development. But the damage, the costs, are generally ignored. Indonesia stands to lose," Erik Meijaard, a researcher with the organization People and Nature Consulting International, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Deforestation in Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, has given rise to the higher frequency of flooding in the region, which impacts the people who live there. "The floods are getting more severe. Every year 500,000 people in Kalimantan are displaced by floods," Meijaard said.
He added there was also a steep increase in temperatures in places where the forest had been cleared away. "[When] you degrade the forest, your average temperature rises by 10 degrees," Meijaard said.
He said that as a result of rising temperatures due to the deforestation, agricultural yields in the region were lower.
Meijaard said the consulting firm he represented had interviewed more than 8,000 people from villages across Kalimantan to try to understand how deforestation was affecting them.
One major problem is the subsidence and severe degradation of land, as floods and the absence of vegetation to hold the topsoil in place leads to erosion. "I'm baffled. People tell me that Indonesia can lose 10 percent of its land if it keeps developing its peat at today's rate," Meijaard said.
The clearing of forests and peatlands through slash-and-burn methods to make way for agricultural land has regularly generated choking haze that has spread as far as Singapore and Malaysia and prompted international outrage and condemnation.
The burning of trees and beat swamps also releases millions of tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, exacerbating the effects of global warming and climate change.
International gathering
The Bogor-based Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) will on Monday and Tuesday host the Forests Asia Summit in Jakarta, one of the biggest gatherings of its kind in recent years, bringing together government officials, business executives, civil society leaders, development experts and the world's top scientists.
CIFOR says the meeting will allow participants "to share knowledge on how the region can accelerate the shift toward a green economy by better managing its forests and landscapes."
As an archipelago, Indonesia's biodiversity is unique. Islands like the Galapagos have distinct species, and Indonesia is the same in this respect, boasting animal and plant species that are found nowhere else on Earth.
Among these is the orangutan, which today faces the threat of extinction as its forest habitats in Sumatra and Kalimantan are razed by palm oil and pulp and paper companies.
Ian Singleton from the Orangutan Project, an organization working to conserve the endangered ape, says deforestation in Indonesia is responsible for the deaths of countless endangered species such as the orangutan, the Sumatran elephants, the tiger and the Sumatran rhino.
He said the process of converting natural forests to oil palm plantations through slash-and-burn clearing had proven deadly for the animals. "Almost nothing survives the conversion process. Not even the smallest lizards," Singleton said.
He showed photographs of dead orangutans, their limbs disfigured, and said they were victims of Indonesia's relentless deforestation drive.
With the country's natural forests dwindling, iconic species like the orangutan and the Sumatran tiger also risk disappearing from the face of the Earth, conservationists warn.
Bali and Java were once home to their own tiger sub-species, but hunting and the clearing of forests led to their extinction. The Sumatran tiger, the last sub-species of the big cat remaining in Indonesia, numbers only around 400 in the wild, but continues to be driven out of its natural habitat.
Singleton also showed photos of chained orangutans, kept as pets. Despite the poor conditions in which many are kept, including running the risk of exposure to infectious diseases from humans, Singleton says these are the "lucky ones" because they are still alive.
He says many of the people and companies involved in the clearing of forests and killing of orangutans – seen as pests by oil palm farmers – have little regard for the country's laws on environmental and wildlife conservation.
He argues that law enforcement in this respect is deficient, pointing out that the few offenders who are caught never go to court to face charges. "Despite all the coverage, it hasn't made one bit of difference. Nobody has been prosecuted. Loose law enforcement is business as usual," Singleton said.
[BeritaSatu Media Holdings, with which Jakarta Globe is affiliated, is a media partner of the Forests Asia Summit.]
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/loss-indonesias-forests-litany-problems/.
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