Daniel MurdiyarsoMarch 2015

Biodiversity and Carbon

Conservation in the Face of

Oil-palm Development in Indonesia

• Jambi and beyond

• Biodiversity loss – at all levels

• In the name of development

• Climate change is here and now

• When enough is enough?

• The way forward

Outline

Jambi 20 years ago…..

Murdiyarso et al. (2002)

Sumber: Danielsen et al. (2009)

• Only Pteridophytes increased

• Lianas, epiphytes and other

palms disappear

• No specialist group was found

Source: Danielsen et al. (2009)

Biodiversity loss: Ptridophytes

Biodiversity loss: birds and butterflies

Source: Koh and Wilcove (2008)

• Shrinking of natural habitats due to

Population pressures (food and fiber)

Agricultural development

• Poaching of “babirusa” and “anoa”

Threats to endemic species in the Wallacea

M. Kinnaird M. KinnairdLynn Clayton

Biodiversity and the local community perspectives

• > 2,100 species

• 3,642 specific uses

• 119 non-substitutable

Field survey results from 200 plots

in East Kalimantan:

Sheil et al. (2005)

Farmers’ choice

Murdiyarso et al. (2002)

Why climate and biodiversity are affected

• Oil palm plantations are developed at the cost

of deforestation

• They mostly occur on high carbon value (HCV)

and high conservation forests (HCF)

• GHG emissions and biodiversity loss

When enough is enough?Oilpalm development in Indonesia

(x 1000 ha)

Island 1985 1998 New Outstanding

Kalimantan 0 563 563 4,760

Sumatra 806 2,240 1,435 9,395

Sulawesi 12 101 89 665

Papua 23 31 8 590

Maluku 0 0 0 236

Others 2 22 20 1,777

Total 843 2,957 2,115 17,423

Source: World Bank, 1999

How low can you go?

Murdiyarso et al. PNAS, 2010

How long does it take to accumulate?

Kurnianto et al.,GCB, 2014

Fires enhance C-loss

• Most fires intentionally started as a cheap method of clearing land

• Drought leads to increasing incidence of accidental start or spread

• Large-scale companies and local communities both contribute

Non El-Nino year and non forested lands

Area burnt 163,336 ha (84% on peat). Mostly on deforested lands (82%; 133,216 ha). GHG emissions: 172 + 59 Tg CO2-eq or 31 + 12 Tg C (5–10% of Indonesia’s mean annual emissions for 2000–2005)

Gaveau et al. (2014)

Building knowledge and capacity at landscape scale

From climate research to action under multilevel governance

1. National REDD process and strategies

2. REDD demonstration activities

3. Monitoring and reference levels

4. Knowledge sharing

How can REDD compete with oil palm?

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Source: Butler et al. (2009)

REDD “win-wins” solutions …. but for whom?

Emissions reductions and

• improved biodiversity

conservation

• improved forest governance

• improved local livelihoods

Potential risks to manage

• …of leading to human rights violations

• …of making poor people worse off

• …of corruption

• …of ineffectiveness

Macro fauna in National Parks nearby REDD+ projects

National Park Area (ha), Date established, and coordinate

Recorded macro faunaNearby REDD+ Project

(Name, area, developer)

Berbak, Jambi 162,700 (1992)1o23’S 104o20’E

Sumatran tiger, tapir, Sumatran rhinoceros, Chinese egret, lesser adjutant stork, Kingfisher, white-winged wood duck, giant turtle, Batagur turtle, and saltwater crocodile

Berbak Carbon Value (BCV)250,000 ha, 700,000 tonnes CO2e y-1

Zoological Society of London, Environmental Resource Management

Sembilang,South Sumatra

205,100 (2001) 2o1’S 104o33’E

Sumatran tiger, Asian elephant, Malayan tapir, siamang, golden cat, sambar deer, saltwater crocodile, Sembilang fish, giant freshwater turtle, freshwater dolphin

Merang REDD+ Pilot Project (MRPP)24,000 haEU-giz

Danau Sentarum, West Kalimantan

132,000 (1999)0o51’N 112o6’E

Asian arowana, clown loach Botia, storm’s stork, great argus, crocodiles

Kapuas Hulu REDD Pilot Project 300-400 tonnes CO2e y-1

FORCLIME/KfW/giz

Gunung Palung,West Kalimantan

90,000 (1990)1o14’S 110o14’E

Orangutans, Agile gibbons, proboscis monkeys, silver langurs, red-leaf monkeys, hornbills

Ketapang REDD Pilot and Community Forestry 26,778 haFauna and Flora International (FFI)

Tanjung Puting, Central Kalimantan

415,000 (1982)2o56’S 112o02’E

Orangutan, proboscis monkeys, gibbons, macaques, clouded leopards, sun bears, wild boars, porcupines, sambar deer

Avoided Deforestation and Peatlands Rewetting 90,000 ha, 100 million tonnes CO2 in 30 yearsRimba Raya Conservation, InfiniteEARTH

Sebangau, Central Kalimantan

530,000 (1939)2o33’S 113o50’E

Agile gibbon, orangutan, large green pigeon, storm’s stork, lesser adjutant

Kalimantan Forest Carbon Partnership (KFCP)130,000 haAustralian Agency for International Development

A conceptual framework to generate combined carbon and biodiversity benefits

Concluding Remarks

• Unprecedented growth of oil palm development and weak governance of state forest lands have led to massive forest loss in the past three decades

• Deforestation of C-rich peatlands are of most immediate ecological and socio-economic concerns

• Land-use change has more immediate effects on biodiversity compared with climate change that one generation can observe

• Climate change and biodiversity offer a challenging frontier for sciences and new knowledge to flourish and make further impacts in the policy arena

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ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Thank you

cifor.org/swamp blog.cifor.org ForestsTreesAgroforestry.org