Indonesia’s Biofuel Expansion on Rainforest Peatlands to Accelerate Climate Change
Indonesia’s BiofuelExpansion on Rainforest Peatlands to Accelerate Climate Change
8 March 2007
published by http://seaksu.blogspot.com
Indonesia — “Indonesias rainforestscontain 60% of all the tropical peat in the world. Peatland rainforests are wet,swampy rainforests that when drained and cleared, their peat filled soils becomehighly susceptible to long burning, carbon and methane rich fires. Suchrainforests on peat soils are one of the worlds most important carbon sinksand play a vital role in helping to regulate the global climate. They are alsovery rich in biodiversity and a refuge for species like orang-utans, since mostof the non-peat lowland forests have already been cleared.
Rainforest peatlands are being destroyed fast; primarily by palm oil, timber,and paper and pulp companies. The Indonesian government has endorsed a massivebiofuel program which foresees an increase in oil palm plantations fromcurrently just over 6 million hectares to eventually over 26 million hectares….”
Read the rest at http://www.ecoearth.info/alerts/send.asp?id=indonesia_peatland
