'Manage peatlands for resilience to climate change'
File photo shows members of the media and SCB officers during a
previous field trip to the Kuala Balai peat swamp forest. Picture: BT
file
Monday, January 16, 2012
PROPER water management is crucial in maintaining the peatlands, which play a major role in mitigating climate change, a local expert in biogeography and environmental studies said.
In her presentation "Managing Peatland for Resilience to Climate Change" at the iCUBE workshop on Thursday, senior lecturer in Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) Dr Hjh Dulima Jali, stressed the importance of proper water management and capacity building in ensuring peatlands can regenerate.
According to her, water management is the critical factor that determines the possibility of regeneration of peatlands. The level of water has to be balanced between the survival of the agricultural plants and the maintenance of the peats, she said in an interview with The Brunei Times.
"Not to high for it to be affecting the plants but not too low that the peats will be oxidised, the peats become dry."
Water level is one of the main factors that promote or prevent regeneration of forests in the peatlands, she explained. When peatlands are disturbed, it can cause the lowering of the water table, which can dry the peatlands and prevent plants from growing.
Ensuring proper water management is not just the responsibility of the government, it involves all parties, from policy makers to the local people, she added. Hence, she called for the involvement of all stakeholders in ensuring peatlands are properly managed as they play a crucial role in the mitigation of climate change.
"(We need) good governance, well-aware, well-versed people...clean government, no corruption and proper implementation of policies, and enforcement of policies."
Dr Hjh Dulima advised for thorough investigations on peatlands to be conducted before any development is implemented in the area in order to optimise use of the peatlands.
This, she said, involves the cooperation and collaboration of relevant departments such as the Public Works Department and the Forestry Department, among others.
Before implementation of projects, some of the things to look at are the impacts of sand extraction, the impacts of widening the drains and the impacts of flood mitigation measures, she said.
She added that capacity building or awareness must be raised on the roles of peatlands to encourage people to conserve them.
"If people understand the role of the peatlands and how it is impacted, then proper and adequate measures will be taken," she told the paper.
Dr Hjh Dulima is currently working on a rehabilitation project to find out the best practices of conserving peatlands in the region. Among the items she worked on were what kind of species can be used, types of timber best promoted and types of water management strategies to be imposed to preserve the peatlands.
The Brunei Times
In her presentation "Managing Peatland for Resilience to Climate Change" at the iCUBE workshop on Thursday, senior lecturer in Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) Dr Hjh Dulima Jali, stressed the importance of proper water management and capacity building in ensuring peatlands can regenerate.
According to her, water management is the critical factor that determines the possibility of regeneration of peatlands. The level of water has to be balanced between the survival of the agricultural plants and the maintenance of the peats, she said in an interview with The Brunei Times.
"Not to high for it to be affecting the plants but not too low that the peats will be oxidised, the peats become dry."
Water level is one of the main factors that promote or prevent regeneration of forests in the peatlands, she explained. When peatlands are disturbed, it can cause the lowering of the water table, which can dry the peatlands and prevent plants from growing.
Ensuring proper water management is not just the responsibility of the government, it involves all parties, from policy makers to the local people, she added. Hence, she called for the involvement of all stakeholders in ensuring peatlands are properly managed as they play a crucial role in the mitigation of climate change.
"(We need) good governance, well-aware, well-versed people...clean government, no corruption and proper implementation of policies, and enforcement of policies."
Dr Hjh Dulima advised for thorough investigations on peatlands to be conducted before any development is implemented in the area in order to optimise use of the peatlands.
This, she said, involves the cooperation and collaboration of relevant departments such as the Public Works Department and the Forestry Department, among others.
Before implementation of projects, some of the things to look at are the impacts of sand extraction, the impacts of widening the drains and the impacts of flood mitigation measures, she said.
She added that capacity building or awareness must be raised on the roles of peatlands to encourage people to conserve them.
"If people understand the role of the peatlands and how it is impacted, then proper and adequate measures will be taken," she told the paper.
Dr Hjh Dulima is currently working on a rehabilitation project to find out the best practices of conserving peatlands in the region. Among the items she worked on were what kind of species can be used, types of timber best promoted and types of water management strategies to be imposed to preserve the peatlands.
The Brunei Times
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