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Adapting to recurring forest fires – climate change and Indonesia’s development
Meeting to discuss how Indonesia should prepare for the impact of climate change Tropical Forests and Climate Change Adaptation (TroFCCA) Launch
Guest speaker – Dr. Emil Salim
Bogor, 29-30 May 2006
Forestry, environment, development planning experts and scientists are meeting in Bogor to discuss the need for Indonesia to begin preparing for the impacts and challenges presented by climate change and recurring forest fires.
Indonesia’s economic development must begin embracing strategies for adapting to climate change. If not, global warming may have devastating environmental, economic and social consequences, especially as a result of the changes to Indonesia’s rainforests.
Future climate change scenarios indicate that by 2080 parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan may be 10-30% wetter during the monsoon. On the other hand, Java and Bali may be drier by 15%.
Seasonal variations and extreme weather events like El Niño are likely to be more severe and significantly increase the risk of forest fires during Indonesia's dry seasons.
Climate change is also likely to increase the risk of more frequent forest fires in Indonesia’s southern regions where forests are generally drier, including the southern areas of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, as well as Java and Bali.
TroFCCA is concerned with the fact that forest fires have severe socio-economic consequences. This is illustrated in recent research which indicates Indonesia’s devastating fires of 1997-98 caused estimated economic losses of US$ 9 billion.
Impacts resulting from forests fires enhanced by climate change include:
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Health: Forest fires release toxic gases like carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and hydrocarbons that can cause severe respiratory illnesses. Higher rainfall and flooding will encourage a wider-distribution of water-borne diseases. Higher tropical temperatures may increase the incidence of food-borne diseases.
Livelihoods: Increasing prevalence and intensity of fires will harm the many communities who rely heavily on forests to provide their timber and non timber needs, and to keep their water clean.
Biodiversity loss: Fires directly eliminate plants and animals, as well as indirectly by degrading forest habitat. The 1997-1998 fires reduced Borneo’s orangutan population by one-third.
Forestry and agriculture: Natural and man-made fires have destroyed large areas of natural commercial forests as well as agricultural crops, such as pulp wood and oil palm plantations.
Tourism: Fires and its smoke haze discourage tourists from visiting forested areas. Fires can destroy forests with tourism potential.
Transportation: Haze from fires affects city traffic, sea transportation. Low visibility caused by forest fires has in the past been linked to airplane and boat crashes.
GHG emissions: Fires are the most effective means to oxidize biomass into carbon dioxide (CO2) and other trace gases. Indonesian 1997/1998 fires resulted more than half of the global CO2 annual growth. |
The meeting will look at many of the above and address a range of questions, including:
- How will climate change impact the region and the livelihoods of forest dependent people?
- How to assess the vulnerability of forest ecosystems and forest-communities to climate change?
- How forest management policies need to be adapted to climate change?
For further information or interview opportunities,
please call Budhy Kristanty
Ph: 251 622622
Email: b.kristanty@cgiar.org
Hp: +62816637353
FULL DOCUMENTATION: www.cifor.cgiar.org/trofcca/_ref/news/kickoffmeeting_asia.htm
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