DON'T Burn, Baby Burn

We previously discussed deforestation and the several environmental and health effects associated with it. However, to those unfamiliar with the process of deforestation, one might assume that the act of deforestation is accomplished through the simple act of chopping down all the trees/brush in an area and removing it. However, the much more often used method that was alluded to in the previous deforestation blog is the slash and burn method. For those who may not know, slash and burn methods accomplish the same thing as deforestation with a notable exception. “Wild or forested land is clear cut (removal of all trees) and any remaining vegetation is burned.” (http://www.ecologic.org/actions-issues/challenges/slash-burn-agriculture/).

Unfortunately, for many local farmers who need land to farm, slash and burning can provide them with land in a very minimal amount of time. By burning the vegetation, a nutrient rich layer of ash rests atop the soil. But usually within two years, the nutrients in the soil provided by the ash is depleted and thus the farmers must move, slashing and burning more land for cultivation. Slash and burn has already proven to be harmful in other forests such as the Amazon rainforest with the carbon emitted from slash and burn contributing to “…more than 1½ million metric tons of carbon per year…released into the atmosphere by these agricultural methods” (http://www.rainforestconservation.org/rainforest-primer/7-special-topics/b-agriculture/2-slash-and-burn-agriculture/).

Furthermore, when it comes to palm oil, these problems are amplified. “Indonesian forests store even more carbon per hectare than the Brazilian Amazon.” (http://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/stop-deforestation/drivers-of-deforestation-2016-palm-oil#.WP90xdLyuM8) Indonesia is the world’s #1 producer of palm oil and in addition to having more stored carbon than other forests, there is another factor that causes even more problems. This factor is known as peatland, which are essentially carbon-rich swampland. “Peatlands can hold up to 18 to 28 times as much carbon as the forests above them” (UCSUSA), which, when slashed (or in the case of peatland “drained”) and burned results in even more greenhouse gas emissions. Even worse: according to UCSUSA “unless the water table is restored, peatlands continue to decay and release global warming emissions for decades.”

Due to its wide usage, palm oil has been contributing to climate change already. “Palm cultivation there was responsible for 2 to 9 percent of worldwide emissions from tropical land use between 2000 and 2010.” (UCSUSA) It is now 2017 and palm oil has not slowed down. With the boom and usage of palm oil in almost 60% of packaged products, it is unlikely that Indonesia will see a reduction in slash and burn or greenhouse gas emissions within the near future.