Dr Elizabeth Philip |
||||
Faizal Parish |
||||
Dr Mohd Shukri Mat Ali @ Ibrahim |
||||
|
“ Sustainable farm management practices and policies must be considered to control carbon loss in peatland ecosystems .”
GHG emissions in Malaysian peatlands , removal estimates
Dr Elizabeth Philip , Chief Executive Officer of the newly-established Malaysia Forest Fund , detailed previous approaches used by Malaysia to track GHG emissions from peatlands about Landuse , Landuse Change and Forestry ( LULUCF ) and Agricultural sectors using Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Guidelines .
She added anthropogenic emissions ( i . e . as a result of human activity ), and removals were considered in National GHG Inventories , and reporting on GHG emissions , usually based on changes in carbon stock . In Malaysia , emissions from peatlands have been accounted for in several categories , namely Forest Land , Crop Land , Wetland and Agriculture .
Dr Philip suggested Malaysia needed to document and report additional elements as recommended through the IPCC Wetlands Supplement .
This includes rewetted organic soils , coastal wetlands and inland wetlands on mineral soils , on top of rice cultivation
|
and drained inland organic soils including drainage ditches , off-site CO2 emissions associated with dissolved organic carbon ( DOC ) and emissions from peat fires , when Malaysia prepares its First Biennial Transparency Report in 2024 .
Drawing from GEC ’ s experience in peatland management and restoration
GEC Director , Faizal Parish , who moderated the session , shared some of GEC ’ s 20 years ’ experience working with oil palm , forestry and environment sectors to prevent peatland fires and degradation , reduce emissions from agriculture and plantations as well as restoring natural peat swamp forest ecosystems .
Partnership with oil palm plantations and local communities adjacent to peat swamp forests in Selangor and Pahang in Malaysia has significantly reduced GHG emissions while recovering forests and maintaining or enhancing agriculture and plantation yields .
“ In Selangor , GEC has helped the State Forestry Department reduce fires on peat swamp forests by 95 per cent since 2014 ,” said Faizal .
“ In Pahang , along with community members of the Orang Asli Jakun tribe and several plantation companies , we
|
PHOTO : GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT CENTRE |
Dr Stephanie Evers
have blocked abandoned drainage canals , rewet peatlands and prevented fires in Pekan , Nenasi and Kedondong forest reserves .
“ We have also collaborated with the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board to develop Best Management Practice guidance for plantations on peatlands to enhance sustainability and at the same time reduce GHG emissions and degradation .
“ There are significant opportunities for Malaysia to reduce emissions from peatlands through better management of oil palm and agriculture on peat as well as the development of peatland restoration projects .”
The virtual conference session , attended by about 100 participants , was an opportunity to learn from experiences and findings on GHG emissions from peatlands concerning Malaysia ’ s commitments to reduce emissions under the Paris Agreement of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change . — @ Forest
|