PEATLANDS in Southeast Asia 

There are more and more webinars, conferences being held online which makes accessibility to peatland information easier for many people. Besides that, mitigation of peatland degradation continues to be talked about. Plus, updates on palm oil sustainability in Malaysia.

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In March 2021, Northeast Monsoon conditions prevailed over the ASEAN region. Dry conditions with less rainfall observed over the northern ASEAN region. Hotspot activities increased compared to the previous month particularly in Myanmar and Lao PDR. The hotspot and haze situation further deteriorated when transboundary haze were observed in many areas.

Although the rainfall condition in Southern ASEAN region were above average, there are active fire hotspots detected particularly in Malaysia and Sumatera. Based on surveillance by the NOAA-20, a total of 59,240 hotspots with high confidence level were detected in ASEAN region in March, 2021. La Niña conditions were present but weakening.

WORRIES AND HOPES OVER PEAT DEGRADATION 

Fires have flared up in at least 10 provinces in Indonesia, with some of the burning occurring in peatlands. One of the worst-affected regions is Riau, where fires have been detected in 10 of 12 districts, burning 657 hectares (1,620 acres) of land as of early March.

The fires have also affected a number of protected areas in Riau, such as the Giam Siak Kecil-Bukit Batu bioreserve. The bioreserve is a 705,271-hectare (1.74-million-acre) area of peatland that’s home to two wildlife reserves.

The Department of Environment (DOE) Malaysia prohibited open burning in the three states following an unhealthy air quality in a few areas caused by an increase in open burning cases. The haze was due to forest and peat fires over 34ha of the South Kuala Langat Forest Reserve, open agricultural burning in Johan Setia, Klang and a bush fire in Rompin, Pahang.

In Indonesia, pulp and paper firms stoke demand that may drive deforestation 

Indonesian producers have built some of the world’s largest pulp mills, and these multi-billion dollar facilities place enormous pressures on the landscapes in which they are situated. In particular, the clearing of carbon-rich peatland forests to develop pulpwood plantations, a practice that over decades has degraded this unique ecosystem and render it extremely flammable.

Publication: Peatlands International 1.2021

International Peatland Society (IPS) has published its first edition of Peatlands International for the year 2021 with most important topics being Just Transition and Hybrid Substrates. 

Klias Peninsula to be nominated as Ramsar site

Malaysia’s Sabah State government is pursuing the prospect of nominating a third Ramsar site in Sabah – the Klias Peninsula – home to iconic wildlives of Borneo such as the Proboscis Monkeys, fireflies, estuarine crocodiles, and migratory birds.

WEBINARS AND PODCASTS ON PEAT

MAHFSA Regional Workshop and Consultation Meeting for Capacity Building and Knowledge Product Development

In line with MAHFSA objective of stimulating enhanced data and knowledge exchange, the MAHFSA Programme hosted a virtual regional workshop held on 16 March 2021. The workshop gathered 83 key stakeholders to explore and verify priorities for capacity-building and knowledge-product development on reducing haze and protecting peatlands across Southeast Asia.

Webinar: 4th International Symposium on Conservation and Management of Wetlands 2020

Organised on the 15th March 2021, Monday, in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, the theme of this webinar is "Wetlands and Biodiversity: Conservation Status and Actions Beyond 2020"

The ISCMW is a biennial event organized by the Sabah Society of Wetlands to raise awareness of the importance of wetlands through sharing of scientific findings.  Lessons learnt from the Symposium shall be incorporated into the Kota Kinabalu Wetlands to close-out scientific or management gaps.

Podcast: Restoration for peat’s sake

To understand what is being done to restore peatlands in Indonesia, this podcast features the Deputy Head of the National Peatland Restoration Agency, Budi Wardhana, and with Dyah Puspitaloka, a researcher on the value chain, finance and investment team at CIFOR, the Center for International Forestry Research.

Regional Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Climate Advocacy during COVID-19 and the Prospects after the Pandemic

The second session of the Virtual Regional Dialogue on Climate Science Updates and Climate Action during and post-COVID-19 was held on 19 March 2021 presented by climate advocators and experts. 

Online workshop: Peatland management and wet livelihood opportunities in Indonesia

The workshop was organized through the Global Peatlands Initiative (GPI) project and consisted of two webinars with eight expert presentations. It aimed to showcase concrete opportunities for Indonesia to further develop and scale-up positive experience with sustainable, wet peatland management 

TEEB for Agriculture & Food (TEEBAgriFood) Regional Symposia 2021

The TEEB for Agriculture & Food (TEEBAgriFood) Regional Symposia 2021 is taking place virtually across three separate events at the following targeted region: Africa and Georgia; Asia Pacific; and Latin America and Caribbean. The first two regions have had the events from the 24-25th February and from the 24-26th March respectively while the latter region will hold the Symposia from the 20-22nd April.

To register to the Regional Symposium Latin America and Caribbean click below button. 

Virtual conference: Renewable resources from wet and rewetted peatlands - RRR2021

Organised by the partners in the Greifswald Mire Centre, the 3rd RRR conference on "Renewable Resources from Wet and Rewetted Peatlands - RRR2021" took place from 9th - 11th of March 2021 with more than 100 scientific oral and poster presentations divided over 21 parallel sessions.

The first two RRR conferences on the utilisation of wetland plants (paludiculture) were held in 2013 and 2017 in Greifswald.

The 2nd Brunei-Networked ASEAN Peat Swamp Forest Communities (BRU-NAPC) Dialogue Session

Organised by the Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB), the dialogue session was held both virtually and physically under the ICT Virtual Organization of ASEAN Institutes (ASEAN IVO), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). The dialogue session brought together experts from local and regional organisations and universities as well as academicians to raise awareness on the best way forward to manage the Peatland area in Brunei.

International Peatland Congress (IPC) 2021

On the 22 February 2021 the organising committee decided to go fully virtual with the IPC2021 bringing all the delegates together into one virtual space. The organisers are developing interesting programmes to attract visitors from many countries, including poster sessions, “Meet the expert” sessions, popular science lectures on pre-planned topics of various general aspects of peat and peatlands, international peat and peatland related photo contest and movie festival as well as many others.

GLOBAL EMISSIONS

Report: Food drives a third of global emissions

A latest research led by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre found that the food systems are in need of transformation. Published in the journal Nature Food on Monday, the report draws on a new global database that provides estimates of food system greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2015. During that period, it notes a “decoupling of population growth and food-related emissions”, with emissions growing slower than the population.

Scientists warn of rebound after record 7% fall in global emissions

The study by scientists from institutions in Australia, Britain, France, Norway and the United States, confirmed preliminary estimates from May last year that global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels fell by 7%, or 2.6 billion tonnes, to 34 billion tonnes.

NEW RESEARCHES ON PEAT

Slow-Growing Microbes Give Southern Peat a Carbon Storage Advantage

“Our study confirms that these wooded peatlands in tropical and subtropical areas are some of Earth’s most effective and important carbon sinks,” said Hongjun Wang, senior research scientist at the Duke University Wetland Center. “Their ability to retain carbon is three to five times higher than in boreal peatlands.”

Fire suppressant kills 'zombie' peat fires 40% faster than water alone

Firefighters currently use millions to billions of litres of water to tackle a peat fire. However, when water alone is used to extinguish peat fires, it tends to create a few large channels in the soil, diverting the water from nearby smouldering hotspots where it is most needed which takes longer to be extinguished. New Imperial research shows a fire suppressant, when combined with water, cuts the amount of time and water needed to extinguish peat fires by 40%.

Post-Doctoral Research Positions

The three post-doctoral research positions are now receiving applications for a new Brunei-centric project, studying Brunei peat-forests and will be based at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. More info as below:

UPDATES ON THE PALM OIL INDUSTRY

86.4% of Malaysia’s total licensed oil palm planted area MSPO-certified, says MPOB

Smallholders faced challenges attaining Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) due to the higher costs involved. However, up to 86.39% of Malaysia’s total planted area for oil palm has been certified sustainable under the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification scheme. 

Palm oil production can grow without converting rainforests and peatland

A four-year research project published on March 25 in Nature Sustainability suggests that palm oil yields on existing farms and plantations could be greatly increased with improved management practices including improved harvest methods, better weed control, improved pruning and better plant nutrition.

Malaysia Looks To Improve Palm Oil Productivity And Yield Rather Than Expand Land

"For output, Malaysia will look on to reduce wastes and emissions while promoting the uses of renewable resources, lower energy usage, less water footprints, reduce waste and contaminant-free,” MPOB Desk Officer for Europe (EU) Region, Rafizah Mazlan Rafizah said.