One of the largest single stores of carbon on the planet is a step closer to lasting protection, according to the environmental group Greenpeace. The Indonesian province of Riau has pledged to halt the destruction of its carbon rich peatlands and forests in a move which could prevent billions of tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere.
The province is thought to store 14.6 billion tonnes of carbon (see http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/media/reports/cooking-the-climate) in its dense peatland areas, equivalent to one year’s entire global greenhouse gas emissions. At a ceremony in the province’s capital Pekanbaru, the Governor of Riau, Wan Abu Bakar, pledged to prevent any further destruction of the area’s peatlands and forests for the production of commodities like palm oil, a major commodity used in food, cosmetics and biofuels.
Greenpeace representatives in Indonesia are now urging the Riau government to maintain the moratorium until a permanent law can be passed. A separate proposal to halt the conversion of South East Asian forests for palm oil production is to be considered in November at the annual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). This follows a Greenpeace campaign earlier this year against Unilever, the largest user of palm oil on the planet and President of the RSPO.
Greenpeace previously highlighted the dangers of Indonesian forest and peatland destruction in a report last year entitled “cooking the climate”. The report showed how rapid expansion of the palm oil industry was driving massive destruction of peatland swamps forests already responsible for 4% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Responding to the news, Mariana Paoli, UK Greenpeace forest campaigner said:
"If we want to beat climate change, then we have to stop the destruction of forests and peatlands in Indonesia. This deal sends a powerful signal to companies around the world that forest protection is becoming a priority in this part of the world. We now need to see the same kind of determination from big business when it considers a wider moratorium in November."
Indonesia is currently the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet, beaten only by China and the USA. The tiny province of Riau, on the island of Sumatra, contains 25 percent of the country’s palm oil plantations and plans exist to expand this area by 200 percent.
"The Indonesian government cannot waste any more time. It must declare a national moratorium on forest conversion to stop the vicious cycle of peatland drainage, forest fires and resulting biodiversity loss due to forest destruction." said Zulfahmi, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Forest campaigner based in Sumatra.
