Category: Science Corner

Insects of the Bornean Rainforest Part 1: Caterpillars

If you spend ten minutes in the forests of Borneo, you might not see the thousands of insects that surround you, but you will hear them. Life bursts from every inch of this biologically rich environment, from the branches that provide highways for ants, to the sheltering cracks and crevices in the trees, to the… Continue reading Insects of the Bornean Rainforest Part 1: Caterpillars

What are Carbon Offset Schemes?

In the midst of an escalating global climate crisis, many people and corporations are looking for ways to reduce their own carbon footprint. One means of doing this is through the use of carbon offset systems, designed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The earth’s climate is the result of multiple heating and cooling factors. The… Continue reading What are Carbon Offset Schemes?

Orangutan Genome (part 2): Unexpected Genetic Diversity

Planet earth is currently home to seven billion people . In comparison, the approximately 60,000 orangutans remaining in the wild represent an exceedingly small number. Despite this 140,000-fold difference in current population size, analysis of the orangutan genome yields a surprising discovery: orangutans are much more genetically diverse than humans.

Orangutan genome (part 1): The quest for Leakey’s ancestral great ape

Louis Leakey was a Kenyan paleoanthropologist who devoted his life to uncovering the early phases of human evolution. Using the scientific tools available at the time, he set out to study hominid fossils in Olduvai Gorge, a ravine in the Great Rift Valley in eastern Africa. His discoveries proved that humans originally evolved in Africa,… Continue reading Orangutan genome (part 1): The quest for Leakey’s ancestral great ape

What Makes Orangutans Intelligent

Numerous studies in the wild and in captivity indicate that the great apes, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, are among the smartest land animals on the planet.  The question is why are they so smart.  Does great ape sociality have anything to do with it? Orangutans live on two different large islands, Borneo and Sumatra. It… Continue reading What Makes Orangutans Intelligent

Orangutan Natural History and Socioecology

Orangutans are the only great ape outside of Africa and they are uniquely adapted to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. During the Pleistocene, orangutans ranged throughout forests in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Vietnam and southern China. As climate slowly changed over nearly 1.8 million years, the orangutan range shifted southward. Orangutan populations have declined dramatically, perhaps by as much as 97%, in the 20th century

Analyzing Hydrology in Tanjung Puting’s Peat Swamp Forests

It may seem strange to think of tropical forests and swamps together… but not to orangutans who call peat swamp forests home. The flooded river networks of Tanjung Puting National Park and Lamandau Reserve are key components of forest ecology. Without them, forests and fruit would be distributed differently, and so would orangutans and other species dependent on these unique ecosystem.

Climate, Forest Ecology and Orangutans

Indonesia consists of approximately 17,000 islands, interspersed with warm seas, strung out along the equator between mainland Asia and Australia. Indonesia’s wet tropical climate is characterized by seasonal changes in rainfall rather than temperature. Warm waters, which make up more than 80% of Indonesia, are responsible for the almost constant temperatures on land. Seasonal variation in Indonesia’s

Preserving Peatland Rainforest Saves Orangutans… and the Global Climate

Most rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra, home to the orangutan, are distributed on peatlands which are typically low, swampy areas that are seasonally flooded. These rainforests are like no others in the world. Part of their uniqueness lies in their large capacity for storing carbon dioxide which is the primary greenhouse gas responsible for global… Continue reading Preserving Peatland Rainforest Saves Orangutans… and the Global Climate

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Most rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra, home to the orangutan, are distributed on peatlands which are typically low, swampy areas that are seasonally flooded. These rainforests are like no others in the world. Part of their uniqueness lies in their large capacity for storing carbon dioxide which is the primary greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.

Protecting these peatland forests is essential not only for saving orangutans and preserving biodiversity but also for preventing massive carbon emissions that could contribute significantly to global warming.

Peatland Carbon Stores

tropical peatlands

Like all tropical rainforests, tropical peatlands store carbon in the leaves, stems, and roots of trees. Because of the rapid growth of trees in the tropics, tree biomass and the volume of carbon stored are higher than in temperate forests. Peatlands are unique because massive amounts of carbon are also stored in the soil itself as well as in the trees. Tropical peatlands have exceptionally rich carbon stores. All peatlands store carbon, but in the cold, wet peat bogs of Europe and northern Asia, peatlands store far less carbon per hectare than in the tropical peat forests of Southeast Asia. Tropical peats are thicker, some 10 to 20 meters deep, and the rate of carbon accumulation is much faster. Tropical peatlands and peat swamp forests are therefore commonly considered to play an essential role in global carbon cycling and what is happening to these forests constitutes an important factor in climate change.

Thirty percent of global peat is in the tropics, and Indonesia holds 60% of this, across an area of 22.5 million hectares primarily in the orangutan-inhabited lowland forests of Borneo and Sumatra. About 40 billion tons of carbon are stored in the soils and forests of Indonesia’s peatlands and peat swamp forests.

Peatland Forest Destruction and Carbon Emissions

The vast carbon stores of Indonesia’s peatland ecosystems can only be maintained by preserving the forests and peatlands. When the forest is damaged or removed, carbon uptake is slowed or halted. Increasing amounts of carbon are then released to the atmosphere as exposed soil organic matter rapidly decomposes. Indonesia’s old-growth forests are estimated to hold over 300 tons of carbon per hectare. 86% of that carbon is lost during “selective logging” which targets 5-10% of valuable timber trees for harvest, but which damages the forest and soil in a much larger area.

burning of forests
Burning of forests to rapidly and profitably clear land

The establishment of palm oil plantations poses an even greater threat to tropical peatlands. In the process of opening up plantations, forests are cleared, swamps drained, and oil palm planted on a massive scale. The oil palms are planted for their oil-rich seeds which are harvested and used to refine palm oil which is heavily traded on the global market. Palm oil is commonly used in a variety of household products and foods such as soaps, shampoos, cooking oil, cookies, crackers, and candy bars. More recently, palm oil has become an important source of biofuel, which is the primary commodity driving recent tropical deforestation.

A mature oil palm plantation holds less carbon than logged forest: only 63 tons per hectare (2.47 acres), and has a lifetime of only 25 years. Plantation development also causes massive releases of carbon dioxide through logging, draining, and burning of forests in order to rapidly and profitably clear land. Drained peatlands release much higher amounts of carbon than naturally saturated swamp forests because carbon can be oxidized more rapidly. Burning instantly releases carbon stored in trees and soil. In 1997, unstoppable fires burned across Indonesia, releasing an estimated 2 gigatons of carbon during this single episode. By comparison, this is double the amount of carbon emissions released on the continent of Africa (which is 15 times larger than Indonesia in land area) during an entire year. Peatland fires in Indonesia have contributed to Indonesia being the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide worldwide, after the U.S. and China.

Source: The World Bank and Department for International Development Indonesia. Report: “Indonesia and Climate Change: Current Status and Policies” May 2007.

Annual Emissions of Carbon per Country
Annual Emissions of Carbon per Country

No Legal Framework for Preserving Forest

Clearly, protecting Indonesia’s peatlands from further destruction is the only solution to preventing dangerous global climate change. Currently, there is no legal framework for protecting peatlands or tropical forests. The United Nations Conference of Parties set up a working group in 2005 which proposed awarding carbon credit to countries that reduce the rate of deforestation. Compensated Reduction is a voluntary scheme that could encourage Indonesia to reduce deforestation but peatlands are not addressed specifically and so far this system has not been implemented. There are plans to consider giving carbon credits for biofuel production, which could have dire consequences for Indonesian peatlands. The Indonesian government aims to expand their biodiesel industry, with plans to convert 20 million hectares of land to palm oil plantations. This policy is expected to increase the rate of deforestation and peat drainage, especially in Borneo and Sumatra, increase carbon emissions into the world’s atmosphere, and cause most wild orangutan populations to go extinct.

OFI puts out the fire in the forest

OFI’s Local Action Essential for Protecting Peatlands

OFI’s current efforts to protect forest in Tanjung Puting National Park are essential for protecting one of the last major expanses of intact peatland in Central Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) as well as conserving one of the two largest wild orangutan populations in the world. The park covers 4000 km2 of peatlands. Much of this area remains undeveloped, with swamps and soils intact. About a third of the area has been deforested through uncontrolled and sometimes deliberate burning. OFI in partnership with World Education is working with villagers living in the vicinity of the park, to reduce uncontrolled burning through demonstration of alternate agricultural techniques. During the dry season, OFI fights fires in the peatlands to slow their spread and minimize the burn area. OFI’s GIS team monitors fire “hotspots” daily using online satellite imagery which helps field teams plan how to fight the fires.

OFI is also battling palm oil encroachment on the northeastern park border. Field teams have managed to stop illegal clearing and burning before major damage was done to the park. OFI’s local actions to protect the orangutan’s forest home in Tanjung Puting National Park are essential for protecting peatlands and peat swamp forests. This is an important contribution to the worldwide battle against global warming.

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