The potential of Rubber and Acacia Plantations for Forest Carbon Stocks in Malaysia

Published date

International Forestry Review

Published by: Commonwealth Forestry Association

International Forestry Review 18(1):68-77. 2016 
https://doi.org/10.1505/146554816818206140

Le potentiel des plantations d'hévéas et d'acacia pour les stocks de carbone forestier en Malaisie El potencial de las plantaciones de caucho y acacias de las reservas de carbono forestal en Malasia

Author

J. Ratnasingam

, 

K. Thiruselvam

 and 

F. Ioras

SUMMARY

In Malaysia, the primary forested land change process is due to the establishment of plantations on logged-over forests and areas used for shifting cultivation. While standing carbon stocks of natural forest have been the focus of many studies, reports on the carbon stocks in Acacia and rubber plantations in Malaysia is sparse. Therefore, this article attempts to collate and analyse Malaysian datasets on total carbon stocks for aboveground biomass in the Acacia and rubber plantations by applying the biomass expansion factor for the period from 1990 to 2013. The forest plantations have higher growth rates, and the harvesting waste and residues left behind are significantly more than the natural forests. Therefore, it leads to greater emission compared to the natural forests. Hence, Acacia and rubber plantations were not able to sequester and store carbon at the same amount as the natural forest, which resulted in carbon credit on the forest carbon stock.

En Malaisie, le principal processus de transformation des terres boisées est la création de plantations sur les forêts exploitées et sur les terres utilisées pour les cultures itinérantes. Si beaucoup d'études se sont penchées sur les stocks de carbone des forêts naturelles, il existe en revanche peu de recherches sur les stocks de carbone des plantations d' acacias et d'hévéas en Malaisie. L'objectif de cet article est donc de regrouper et d'analyser les données malaisiennes concernant l'ensemble des stocks de carbone pour la biomasse épigée dans les plantations d'acacia et d'hévéas en appliquant le facteur d'expansion de la biomasse pour la période allant de 1990 à 2013. Les plantations forestières enregistrent des taux de croissance plus élevés, et les déchets et résidus laissés après les récoltes sont sensiblement plus importants que pour les forêts naturelles, ce qui aboutit à des émissions plus élevées que pour les forêts naturelles. Ainsi, les plantations d'acacias et d'hévéas ne pouvant capter et d'emmagasiner autant de carbone que les forêts naturelles, elles se traduisent par un crédit-carbone sur le stock de carbone forestier.

En Malasia, el principal proceso de cambio de usos del suelo en terrenos forestales se debe al establecimiento de plantaciones en bosques intervenidos y en áreas utilizadas para cultivos itinerantes. Mientras las reservas de carbono de los bosques naturales han sido foco de muchos estudios, en Malasia existe muy poca información sobre las reservas de carbono en plantaciones de acacia y caucho. Por tanto, este artículo intenta cotejar y analizar conjuntos de datos sobre las existencias totales de carbono de la biomasa aérea de Malasia, en plantaciones de acacia y caucho aplicando el factor de expansión de biomasa para el período de 1990 a 2013. Las plantaciones forestales tienen mayores tasas de crecimiento, y los deshechos de corta y poda son significativamente más grande que en los bosques naturales. Por lo tanto, esto conduce a una mayor emisión en comparación con los bosques naturales. Consecuentemente, las plantaciones de acacia y caucho no fueron capaces de secuestrar y almacenar carbono en la misma cantidad que el bosque natural, dando lugar a créditos de carbono sobre las reservas de carbono forestal.

Keywords: carbon stock, plantations, natural forests, aboveground biomass, Malaysia

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Innovation in Forestry:   territorial and value chain relationships Edited by Weis, G., Pettenella, D., Ollonqvist, P. and Slee, B.

This book is the result of the COST Action E51 on “ Integrating Innovation and Development Policies for the Forest Sector”, which studied innovation policies and processes in the forest sector in Europe. The central question of the Action was: To what extent do policies create an innovation-enabling environment for enterprises in forestry and the forest-based industries? Among others, the participants of the Action reviewed conceptual approaches for the study of innovation in the sector, and conducted empirical case studies from the most important innovation fields.

This publication makes a significant contribution to the study of innovation in forestry and the forest-based industries. It presents the first comprehensive overview and assessment of the relevant research approaches for the study of innovation processes and policies in the forest sector and their application in the most relevant current innovation fields in Europe. It assesses the innovation-related particularities of two very different fields of production: territorial goods and services as well as wood value chains – two areas which differ significantly in their preconditions for innovation and that are conventionally tackled by separate research fields. It is hoped that this book will be a valuable resource for researchers, specialised students, interested stakeholders, and policy-makers. 

The book is available to order here

Table of Contents

1. The Study of Innovation in the Forest Sector: Relevance and Research Background 
2. Theoretical Approaches for the Analysis of Innovation Processes and Policies in the Forest Sector 
3. Networks of Small-Medium Enterprises Operating in Forestry: Some Theoretical Concepts and Empirical Evidence 
4. Innovation-related Knowledge Flows: Comparative Analysis of Finnish and Estonian Wood Sectors 
5. Institutional Innovation in European Private forestry: the Emergence of Forest Owners' Organizations   
6. The Contribution of Leader+ to the Implementation of Innovative Forest-related Projects 
7. How to Support Firm Competitiveness in Timber Industries? Clusters as Policy Means in Four European Countries 
8. Innovation in Forest-related Territorial Goods and Services: an Introduction 
9. Innovative Market Opportunities Related to Carbon Sequestration in European Forests? 
10. The Role of Networks in Non-wood Forest Products and Services Market Development 
11. The Role of Cooperation in Enhancing Innovation in Nature-based Tourism Services 
12. Innovations in Wood-based Enterprises, Value Chains and Networks: an Introduction 
13. Role of Policies and National Programmes on Innovations in Timber-frame Construction 
14. Networks and Local Milieus as a Furniture Industry Innovation Platform 
15. Innovation in the Wood Bio-energy Sector in Europe 
16. Policy and Market-related Factors for Innovation in Forest Operation Enterprises 
17. Innovation in EU Forestries: a Science-Policy Dialogue 
18. How to Support Innovation in the Forest Sector: Summary and Conclusions 

For further details log on website :
http://www.eficeec.efi.int/portal/library/publications/cost_e51/

Strategy for Forest-Based Industries

The Blueprint for the EU forest-based industries

The 2013 Blueprint accompanying the new EU Forest Strategy and the associated Staff Working Document underlines that the industry has to address a number of challenges to remain competitive:

• Stimulating growth for forest-based products in EU and non-EU markets.
• Resource and energy efficiency – apart from innovation and maintaining their productivity, the EU Forest-based Industries can compensate for their globally high production costs by using resources and energy in the most efficient way possible. One example is to further develop the 'cascade' principle, which should allow the EU to use its limited wood supplies more efficiently in the face of growing demand from the bio-economy and bio-energy.
• Raw materials - a quarter of EU forests face legal and owners’ limitations which makes mobilising more fresh wood increasingly difficult and costly. Much of the wood imported to the EU is taxed before export, while increasing amounts of EU sawlogs are exported to competitors at the same time.
• Better logistics are needed for raw material supply and product delivery.
• Structural adaptation the industry has many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro enterprises that need to cooperate across their value chains to achieve greater efficiency.
• Innovation and RTD - new products are needed to meet changing societal demands. These require new processes and business models such as in bio-refineries.
• Education and skills, the ageing workforce - without re-training the workforce, technological improvement can’t be harnessed. A shortage of young entrants into the industry means that existing skills are not being passed on from an ageing workforce. In all four Forest-based Industries sub-sectors, there is a mismatch between the knowledge delivered by education and the know-how and skills industries need.
• Coherence of EU legislation – it is important to ensure coherence and consistency in EU legislation to provide a predictable environment for businesses. However, some policy or legislative elements may overlap or have conflicting goals or effects. They may also add costs.
• Implementing EU Climate Policy after 2030 – with increased greenhouse gas savings targets and renewable energy targets, demand for wood biomass may increase and wood-based products will need to be able to demonstrate their carbon storage potential.
• International competition, trade, and cooperation - in a global economy, competing low-cost producers of wood-based products will increasingly penetrate EU markets. It will be essential to focus on increasingly sophisticated, higher-value wood-based products for EU and non-EU markets. Cooperation dialogues can assist in this.
• Information, communications, and image - better information is need within the Forest-based Industries and between them and other sectors. Based on this, a better image of the sector could be projected.

Actions to address the challenges

The Forest Strategy and the Blueprint identify various activities to address challenges identified by the Commission, EU countries, and the industries themselves for the timeframe 2014-2020. Ongoing activities include:

• examining the opportunity of improving information on furniture products
• conducting a cumulative cost assessment of EU legislation and policies affecting the sector. This will be done under COSME during 2015 and will link to the review of the EU Timber Regulation
• improving the understanding of the cascading use of wood, identification of barriers to its functioning, and good practices and measures to overcome them (CASCADES study (2016))
• facilitating the increased sustainable wood mobilisation.

The list of activities for the work programme 2014-16 will be developed based on the Blueprint.

Expert Group on Forest-based Industries and Sector-related Issues

This new Expert Group (56 kB) brings together EU-level representatives of the Forest-based Industries, civil society, and national authorities. The Expert Group succeeds the Former Advisory Committee on Forest-based Industries that last met in 2012. The group is chaired by the Commission and has the following tasks:

• providing the Commission with expert advice for the development, implementation, and monitoring of EU policy and legislation affecting the sector
• establishing cooperation between sectorial bodies, EU countries, and the Commission
• exchanging experiences and good practices within the forest-based industries sector

The Expert Group had its first meeting on 21 November 2014. Summary (542 kB)

The group had its second meeting on 20 April 2016. Summary and meeting documents

Supporting information

• Study on the Optimised Cascading Use of Wood (2016) (en) + Executive Summary (en- fr)
• A Blueprint for the EU Forest-based Industries
• Communication on a new EU Forest Strategy: for forests and the forest-based sector
• A new EU Forest Strategy: for forests and the forest-based sector
• Study on the Wood Raw Material Supply and Demand for the EU Wood-processing Industries (Indufor) - Part 1 (7 MB) - Part 2 (5 MB) - December 2013

• Communication on Innovative and Sustainable Forest-based Industries in the EU

• Communication on the State of the competitiveness of the EU forest-based and related industries
• Evaluation of European forest-based industry policy from 1999
• Decision 97/837/EC establishing the Advisory Committee on Community Policy regarding Forestry and Forest-based Industries
• Study on the competitiveness of the European graphic industry: prospects for the EU printing sector to respond to its structural and technological challenges (2007) and Summary (184 kB)
• Perception of the wood-based industries - Qualitative study
• Report on the role of forest products for climate change mitigation (102 kB) - Annex of the report (842 kB).

For further details log on website :
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-materials/industries/forest-based/strategy_en

The legend of Lake Chini in Pahang

Author
ByPaula Tan

As far as mythical legends go, Lake Chini has remained out of the public eye, shrouded in mist and mystery for many years. Paula Tan discovers one of the country’s hidden gems as she makes her way to Pahang, the tranquil state.

Mysterious beginnings

A mere 85 kilometers from the bustling city of Kuantan stands a mystical place where an ancient empire is believed to lie slumbering, guarded by a legendary monster. Here begins the tale of Lake Chini, whose banks have witnessed the changing times, yet kept their secrets from a skeptical world.

Lake Chini is Malaysia’s second-largest natural freshwater lake, 12.565 acres of lush wetlands comprising a dozen interconnecting bodies of water.

Historians believe that the lake is the site of an ancient Khmer city, from an era when the Khmer empire extended into the Malay peninsula.

Locals, on the other hand, believe that the mysterious lake is guarded by a dragon-like beast known as Naga Sri Gumum. Over the decades, there have been occasional reports of sightings, but as in the case of the Loch Ness monster, these have never been scientifically proven.

Over time, the existence of seven pyramidlike hills near Lake Chini has sparked interest in the possibility of a lost Khmer civilization that could date back to the 12th century.

While there is no proof that the hills are man-made, there is a likelihood that it is part of a lost city that lies at the bottom of the lake. This is based on a theory that the area was submerged in water after the fall of the Khmer empire, of which the city was a part of in the 15th century.

Although many have made claims of this elusive sunken city, little effort has been made to unravel the mystery. Based on pieces of porcelain found in the area, the city could have been built when the Khmer empire was at its zenith.

Ruled between 802 and 1432 by a succession of “god kings”, the Khmer empire had its capital in Siem Reap, Cambodia, home to the famed Angkor Wat. According to locals, the “pyramids” became more evident when one of the unique hills in the nearby vicinity of Padang Kerbau was cleared by a plantation company.

Unparalleled beauty

Legends aside, Lake Chini is blessed with vast natural bounty that is rich in biological resources. There are 138 species of territorial flora, 300 species of non-aquatic vertebrates, and 144 species of freshwater fish. Thousands of pink and white water lilies blossom across the lake between August and September, transforming it into a vibrant floating garden.

From the Lake Chini resort, a boatman can steer you across the lake through a charming secret arch of river rushes, a hidden gate to Kampung Cendahan. This is where the local indigenous community, or orang asli, comprising the Jakun tribe, resides in a small clearing.

Here, life moves slowly, unchanged over the centuries, as these simple folk rely on cultivating “Tongkat Ali” and other herbal roots for an income, retiring to their makeshift huts at the end of the day. In villages like these, the old ways live on in the fine woodcarvings, combs, trinkets and blowpipes lovingly handmade from bamboo, and laid out in a small, yet proud display for visitors. On request, a tribesman will oblige with a blowpipe demonstration, or reveal how the tribe lays traps to snare small animals for food.

Photo credit: Tourism Malaysia

For visitors who enter via Kampung Belimbing or the Kuala Chini jetty, the 30-minute boat journey along the winding Chini River under a canopy of giant tropical trees is nothing short of magical. During the lotus season, flowers are plentiful and a single bloom makes a delightful souvenir, with an additional fun factor when the boatman makes you a hat out of a lotus leaf.

The area surrounding Lake Chini offers several exciting routes for jungle trekking, and terrain that challenges any 4WD enthusiast. Local guides are ever ready to direct visitors to the Terapai and Mentagan Waterfalls, or on a hike up to Chini Mountain for the more adventurous – an endeavour that will require an overnight stay on the peak.

Go lake-hopping across the 12 lakes, a seemingly endless expanse of water, or revel in the great outdoors at camping sites that take you back to nature. Alternatively, opt for a homestay at the nearby Kampung Baru Salong if creature comforts are essential for you.

Nature at its finest

Photo credit: Tourism Malaysia

One of Lake Chini’s most popular activities is fishing, and the best time to try your hand at this is between November to January, when the rains increases the volume of the lake. Boatmen who ply the area will be more than happy to show you the best spots to seek out the giant Snakehead fish, or toman, which you can snare with tiny green frogs as bait. Another species that is popular among visiting fishermen is the catfish, or baung, that often emerges in the evenings in search of food.

For visitors traveling with children, bird watching is an enjoyable pastime, as the vicinity boasts a wide variety of avian life, along with the plump squirrels that come to feed on palm kernels set out at the resort especially for them. A stroll on the banks of the lake reveals a captivating array of flora and fauna, including the popular pitcher plant, also known locally as the “monkey cup.” If you’re lucky (or unlucky), you may even meet a crocodile on the riverbanks where they often nest, protecting their eggs. However, these creatures are fairly shy of humans and are likely to take refuge in the water, unless provoked.

Terapai waterfall

Lake Chini Research Centre, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s field station at Chini, is a research hub dedicated to the preservation and monitoring of the ecological site. Located just beside Lake Chini Resort, the centre is an educational eye-opener for students, conservationists, and visitors seeking information about the lake and its flora and fauna.

On your nature ramble, an interesting addition would be the Bebar peat swamp forest, or Black Water Jewel. It takes its name from the Bebar river that flows within it from an orang asli settlement called Runchang, to the fishing village of Nenasi by the South China Sea.

Peninsular Malaysia’s largest forested wetland in terms of area covered, the Bebar forest is located about forty kilometres from the nearby royal town of Pekan. The forest’s rich biodiversity has made it an area of conservation interest at both national and global levels. It is also the main artery of a peat swamp legacy which forms the core of Southeast Pahang.

Pekan riverfront, Pahang | Photo credit: See Shinn

Despite its myriad of activities and visitors, Lake Chini unfailingly revisits its forgotten past at dusk. By day, it is an ode to creation, a joyous rippling blue in the breeze and sunshine. Yet, tranquil and still after the last evening boat returns to its mooring post, it changes moods, taking on a quiet charm as if awaiting a lover. In the deep purple hue of its waters, the night sky is reflected with thousands of stars. And as the nocturnal birds call to each other across the tall grasses, the legends come alive once more.

This article was originally published in The Expat Magazine (December 2013) which is available online or in print via a free subscription.
This article was updated in April 2016.

For further information log on website:
http://www.expatgo.com/my/2014/01/10/the-legend-of-lake-chini-in-pahang/