Peat lands

The 1997 South East Asian Haze was an international air-quality disaster resulting from widespread fires across the Indonesian archipelago. The smoke caused disruptions to air travel, ground and water transportation, and business. Polluting particulate matter also had a devastating effect on respiratory health, particularly in children and the elderly. Including fire-related costs, the total damages throughout the region were estimated to amount to USD $4.5 billion. Indonesia alone counted for USD $1 billion in damages. Ultimately, the true cost is difficult to calculate; what price is attributed to destruction of biodiversity, atmospheric damage, and decreased quality of life?

Following the 1997-1998 Indonesian burning season, the growth rate of atmospheric CO2 shot from 3.2 gigatonnes (Gt) per year to 6.0 Gt – the highest proportion ever recorded. Smoke from burning trees was partially responsible for the emissions, but more problematic was the 2.57 Gt of pollution which originated from smouldering peat bogs. The total emissions figure was equivalent to 13-40% of the amount released by global fossil fuel burning that year, and greater than the carbon uptake of the world's biosphere.

Tropical peat is a carbon-rich soil made of compacted decayed vegetation and organic matter. Under particular conditions, peat will turn into lignite coal over geologic periods of time. The carbon in peat can burn under low moisture conditions; once ignited, it smoulders, and can do so undetected for years, propagating underground through the peat layer. Consequently, new forest fires can erupt on the surface.

The deposits in moist tropical peatlands can be up to 20 metres (66 feet) deep; they usually sustain lush jungle habitats. When they are drained and cleared, as many had been in Kalimantan (Borneo) for the Indonesian national Mega Rice Project, the peat deposits dry out and become very susceptible to fire.

1997 was also an El Nino season, which exacerbated the issue. El Nino is a combined ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that has numerous climatic effects on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, including bringing drought to many areas of Indonesia. That year, the forest was a tinderbox, and when the annual land-clearing fires were lit, they had unexpectedly harsh results.

Some of the most serious fires were in Kalimantan – a primary habitat for endangered Bornean orangutans. Satellite images demonstrated that the region lost about 32% (approximately 800,000 hectares) of its forest in the ’97 fires. Peatlands accounted for 91.5 percent of Kalimantan’s burned area, (about 730,000 hectares).

Whilst the burning season continued annually, 2006 was another drastic year due to El Nino conditions.