Peatland survey in Duta Palma concessions, Riau Greenpeace International October 2007 During the past month, Greenpeace has investigated the depth of peatland and the status of the water table within the oil palm concessions of the Duta Palma company’s subsidiaries PT BBU and PT Palma Satu, and adjacent to that of its subsidiary PT BAY. The concessions are located near the village of Kuala Cenaku, situated the town of Rengat in Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. Map 1: Duta Palma concessions near Kuala Cenaku. Concession borders are elaborated from the data contained in the Environmental Impact Assessment submitted by PT BAY 1 , PT BBU 2 and PT Palma Satu. 3 The map also shows the part of larger peat dome that is covered by these three concessions. PT Kencana Amal Tani is another Duta Palma concession in this area, situated on mineral soil. Peat depth regulations in Indonesia 1 PT Bertuah Aneka Yasa, Draft Laporan, Kerangka Acuan Analisis Dampak Lingkungan (Ka - Andal) Kegiatan Perkebunan dan Pabrik, Pekanbaru, August 2007 2 PT Banyu Bening Utama, Ringkasan Eksekutif AMDAL Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit, Pekanbaru, April 2004 3 PT Palma Satu, Dokumen Kerangka Acuan, Analisis Dampak Lingkungan, Perkeubunan dan Pabrik Pengolahan - Kelapa Sawit, PT PALMA SATU July 2007
Transcript
Peatland survey in Duta Palma concessions, Riau
Greenpeace InternationalOctober 2007
During the past month, Greenpeace has investigated the depth of peatland and the status of the water table within the oil palm concessions of the Duta Palma company’s subsidiaries PT BBU and PT Palma Satu, and adjacent to that of its subsidiary PT BAY. The concessions are located near the village of Kuala Cenaku, situated the town of Rengat in Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia.
Map 1: Duta Palma concessions near Kuala Cenaku. Concession borders are elaborated from the data contained in the Environmental Impact Assessment submitted by PT BAY1, PT BBU2 and PT Palma Satu.3 The map also shows the part of larger peat dome that is covered by these three concessions. PT Kencana Amal Tani is another Duta Palma concession in this area, situated on mineral soil.
Peat depth regulations in Indonesia
1 PT Bertuah Aneka Yasa, Draft Laporan, Kerangka Acuan Analisis Dampak Lingkungan (Ka Andal)Kegiatan Perkebunan dan Pabrik, Pekanbaru, August 2007
2 PT Banyu Bening Utama, Ringkasan Eksekutif AMDAL Perkebunan Kelapa Sawit, Pekanbaru, April 20043 PT Palma Satu, Dokumen Kerangka Acuan, Analisis Dampak Lingkungan, Perkeubunan dan Pabrik Pengolahan
Kelapa Sawit, PT PALMA SATU July 2007
Article 10 of the Indonesian Presidential Decree of 25 July 1990 on Management of Protected Area - No 32 specifies that, "upstream swamp and peatlands deeper than three metres should be protected."
According to a 1988 decree by the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations concern-ing criteria for choosing areas for palm oil plantations,4 "plantation developments on peat soils deeper than two metres are not allowed."
The development of plantations on peatland deeper than two metres has, therefore, effectively been illegal since 1998 and peatlands deeper than three metres should have been protected under Indonesian law since 1990.
Peatland depth survey of October 2007 in Duta Palma concessions
Working under the supervision of experts from the Centre for International Co-operation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatland (CIMTROP), Greenpeace investigators documented the depth of peatland soils in and adjacent to the Duta Palma concessions held by PT BBU, PT Palma Satu and PT BAY.
Map 2: Sampling points of peat depth and water table survey in and around the Duta Palma concessions. The concessions are held by PT Duta Palma subsidiaries.
Tropical peatlands have been created over a period of thousands of years under peat swamp forests. As these forests die, they form large peat mounds or domes which are rich in the carbon accumulated from generations of trees. A peat dome is commonly deepest in the middle and shallower around the edges, such as at
4 No 376/1998 of 8 April 1998
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the boundary of a river.
Starting from the river, Greenpeace investigators measured the depth of the peat soil from outside the concession areas through the PT BBU concession, running close to and parallel to the PT BAY concession and a short way into a recently allocated concession controlled by PT Palma Satu.5 The transect is shown in Map 2. The transect was selected to cover the conditions in a large peat dome covered by all three subsidiaries’ concessions. This had previously been mapped by Wetlands International and showed a peat depth of two to four metres.6
The thickness or depth of the peat layer was measured by inserting into the peat soil a 15 centimetre bit-peat drill fixed to a two-metre long handle, until mineral soil was encountered. Where the peat was very deep, the drill handle could be elongated to a maximum length of eight metres, if necessary. When the drill hit mineral soil, it was rotated to take a sample core. Cores were then taken from the entire length of the drill to enable analysis of the sample and accurate measurement of peat depth.
Findings of the peat depth investigation
The main finding of the investigation is that the Duta Palma concessions lie on very deep strata of peat, ranging from 3.5 metres outside the boundary of the concession7 up to more than 8 metres deep in the middle of the concession area.8
Sampling point no (Map 2)
Distance from the Cenaku River (m) Peat thickness (m)
Table 1: Record of peat depth at sampling points from the river into the concessions.
The peat thickness at the river was approximately 0.69 metre. At the PT BBU concession border, the depth was 3.85 metres which became deeper further into the concession. At a distance of 500 metres inside this concession the peat depth was 7.5 metres and at two kilometres from the PT BBU border, the peat layer was found to be more than eight metres deep. The full depth of the peat could not be measured because the maximum extension of the drill was limited to eight metres. At 3.4 kilometres from the river, just outside the PT BBU boundary and into the PT Palma Satu concession boundary, the depth of the peat
5 The boundaries used here for this concessions are based on the Environmental Impact Assessment filed by PT Palma Satu in July 2007 (Dokumen Kerangka Acuan Analisis Dampak Lingkungan Perkebunan dan Pabrik Pengolahan Kelapa Sawit. PT Palma Satu, July 2007)
6 Wahyunto et. al (2003). Maps of Area of Peatland Distribution and Carbon Content in Sumatera, 1990 – 2002. Wetlands International - Indonesia Programme & Wildlife Habitat Canada (WHC).
7 At GIS location 0°29'15.00"S – 102°37'54.54"E.
8 At GIS location 0°30'5.93"S – 102°37'54.67"E.
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layer was measured at 6.3 metres. This transect runs close to and parallel to the PT BAY concession, indicating that the peat dome also extends into the PT BAY concession. It is therefore assumed that this concession is also situated on a deep strata of peat.
Survey of the status of the water table within the peatland concessions
The Greenpeace team also undertook a survey of the level of the water table in order to determine the condition of the peat within the surveyed peat dome. If peat is not fully drained, restoration can still be carried out, despite the fact that some drainage has taken place.
Measurement of the water table was carried out by inserting plastic pipes into boreholes. The pipes were closed at the lower end to prevent debris from entering. They had small holes along their length at 10 centimetre intervals. When the pipes are inserted into the bore holes, ground water enters the pipes through the holes making it possible to measure the water level by inserting into the pipe a device that detects the presence of water. The level of the water table was measured from the soil surface.
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Sampling point no (Map 2)
Distance from the Cenaku River (m) Water table (m)
Total peat depth Dry peat depth Depth of waterlogged peat
Figure 1: Peat depth and water table findings. Figure 1 shows the total peat depth, the depth of dried and waterlogged peat. The level of the water table is shown as the top of the grey shaded area.
Drainage canals at Duta Palma concessions
Two main canals drain the water from peatland at the concessions in the Cenaku River area. The first one, serving the PT BAY plantation, is located at the position 0°28'7.95" S 102°38'32.67" E.
The second canal, at 0°29'27.50" S 102°37'30.16" E, drains water from the PT BBU plantation into the river.
Although the peat soil is not yet severely degraded, continued drainage will cause it to dry out within a few years. This will not only make it extremely
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vulnerable to fire but the simple exposure to oxygen will start the decomposition processes and cause carbon in the dry peatland to oxidise and be released to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
Findings of the water table investigation
The water table measurements carried out at the Duta Palma oil palm plantation concession near the village of Kuala Cenaku reveal that the water table is still close to the surface, at a depth of between 1.36 and 0.78 metres (see Table 2 and Figure 1). According to experts from CIMTROP, this demonstrates that the peat is still largely wet and not yet severely compromised, indicating that the peatland could be restored.
If drainage continues, however, this peat dome will be severely degraded and beyond restoration in a few years.
Implications of the findings
The Greenpeace investigation shows that the peatland on which Duta Palma’s subsidiaries hold oil palm concessions is much deeper than two metres and are therefore not allowed to be developed into oil palm plantations.9
Furthermore, the concessions lie on peat deeper than three metres and, according to a Presidential Decree from 1990, should be protected.
Maps compiled by Wetlands International as a basis for provincial land-use planning,10 showed this area as having a peat depth of two to four metres. Our investigation showed it to be much deeper, reaching over eight metres in some areas. Although these maps are currently the best available, our survey demonstrates that they are not sufficiently detailed to serve as a basis for provincial land-use planning Drainage of tropical peatland to one metre depth results in emissions of 80-100 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per hectare per year, excluding the effects of fire.11 In large parts of the peat dome under Duta Palma’s concessions, the drainage depth has already reached one metre. This could lead to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 being emitted per year, equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions from 375,000 average Australian cars.12 Further drainage of this area is expected to dramatically increase emissions, given the peat depth of eight metres.
The company Duta Palma is already in conflict with local communities and is destroying the habitat of endangered animals. In addition, its operations are
9 Ministerial Decree of the Ministry of Forestry and Plantations, criteria for choosing areas for Palm oil plantations, No 376/1998 of 8 April 1998, "plantation developments on peat soils deeper than two metres are not allowed".
10 Wahyunto et. al (2003). Maps of Area of Peatland Distribution and Carbon Content in Sumatera, 1990 – 2002. Wetlands International - Indonesia Programme & Wildlife Habitat Canada (WHC)
11 Hooijer, A., Silvius, M., Wösten, H. and Page, S. 2006. PEAT-CO2, Assessment of CO2 emissions from drained peatlands in SE Asia. Delft Hydraulics report Q3943 (2006)
12 Car equivalents: The average distance driven per year is generally assumed to be 15,000 km in Australia and the average fuel consumption is estimated in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (NGGI) to be about 12 litres per 100 km which is equivalent to 1,800 litres per year. According to the NGGI Workbook 3.1, each litre of automotive gasoline (i.e. petrol) burned in an average car produces 2.244 kg of CO2. Therefore the average car produces about 4 tonnes of CO2 per year.
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creating enormous emissions of greenhouse gases. Duta Palma is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Development (RSPO).
Nonetheless, because the water table is still relatively high it is not too late to restore the integrity of these particular peatlands.
A call to action
Greenpeace is calling on Duta Palma to stop the drainage of this peatland and undertake restoration and replanting of the forest that it has destroyed in disregard of Presidential and Ministerial Decrees meant to protect such areas.
Greenpeace is calling on the Indonesian government to:
commit to a moratorium on deforestation and industrial logging;
commit to a review of laws, governance and law enforcement;
implement a responsible and just land-use planning system.
In the run-up to the Kyoto Protocol meeting in Bali, in December, Greenpeace wants the Indonesian government to commit to a moratorium on conversion and destruction of Indonesian peatland forests and ensure the implementation of an effective action plan against forest fires.
