Call for Abstracts

The importance of peat

Tropical peat lands in Southeast Asia are of high importance to biodiversity conservation as a habitat for many rare or endangered species such as the orang utan, tapir, storm’s stork, false gavial and Sumatran tiger. The black water rivers and streams have a very special freshwater biodiversity. In many regions peat lands play a significant role in supporting rural livelihoods, being a source of natural products, drinking water and irrigation. They have an important storage function for carbon, with over 20 times more carbon stored under, than above, ground. The carbon and hydrological functions are rapidly degrading as a result of drainage and deforestation. Over the last 30 years, the peat lands of Southeast Asia have been under tremendous pressure from agriculture and forestry development. In 1997, 1-2.5 billion tonnes of carbon, equalling 15-40% of the annual global emissions from burning of fossil fuels, were released during peat land fires in Indonesia alone. This resulted in significant health problems across the region, millions of lost workdays, as well as significant impacts on tourism and transportation.

Issues to be addressed

Presentations, with abstracts, are invited under this theme, especially on restoration of degraded tropical peat lands to reinstate their natural resource functions, including carbon sequestration and storage to mitigate carbon losses. Papers are also welcomed on the application of ‘wise use’ practices for the sustainable management of natural tropical peat lands and those developed for agriculture, forestry and industry that minimize future carbon losses whilst benefiting local communities. In addition, new approaches to sustainable development of tropical peat lands that compensate local communities for the lost opportunity costs of ceasing to exploit natural resources in a non-sustainable manner (e.g. Biorights) would also be appropriate, especially if they are linked to case studies. New views are welcomed on how to provide European and Asian communities and governments with opportunities to supplement their economies from Kyoto CDM projects for restoration planting of trees on tropical peat land. The challenge faced in this theme is to address the socio-economic problems of poverty and conflict while, at the same time, addressing the global requirements for biodiversity conservation and carbon balance. This theme aims to integrate conservation and development of tropical peat lands within a framework of multiple wise use. Therefore information on new approaches to stakeholder interaction and collaboration as the means to develop a societal commitment for protection and sustainability of renewable peat land natural resources would be appreciated.

Conveners:

Prof. Bostang Radjagukguk, University of Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
Dr Henk Wösten, Alterra WUR, the Netherlands

Invited lecture: Prof. Jack Rieley, University of Nottingham, 
United Kingdom: Peat lands and climate change: the tropical zone perspective

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