Plugging the peat leak

By HILARY CHIEW

The Raja Musa and Sg Karang peat swamp forest reserves in northern Selangor provide a reservoir of water that is critical to the success of the Tanjung Karang rice cultivation scheme. But ill-conceived development at the fringes of the reserves threatens not just the peatlands, but food security too, for Tanjung Karang is one of the country's rice bowls. 

NATURE is recuperating – on the surface. Small trees and shrubs have returned to cover the blackened peatland in Batang Berjuntai, 70km north of Kuala Lumpur, a year after some 1,000ha were torched by raging peat fire. 

Located adjacent to the Raja Musa peat swamp forest reserve, one of two reserves of its kind in north Selangor, the peripheral peatland had been drained to accommodate an oil palm plantation in 1998. Prolonged and uncontrolled drainage of the peatland had rendered the area a fire hazard, particularly during the dry months. 

A recent field visit to the impoverished site raised concerns that a similar fire may revisit the area if the extensive canal network is not plugged. Tell-tale signs of excessive drainage – rapid flows in open canals and enlargement of old logging canals – are evident at the forest fringes. 

A simple water gate made from recycling construction waste like this metal sheet had successfully raised the water table in a peatland in Selangor and spared it from fire.

The organiser of the trip, Global Environment Centre (GEC), a non-governmental environmental organisation, points out that activities at the edge of the reserve show the need for better water management of the peat swamp. 

“The forest is being threatened by tin mining at the southern end, and agricultural development and continuous draining through canals left behind by previous logging activities,” says GEC director Faizal Parish. “In recent years there has been an increase in the number of forest fires, many linked to drainage activities.”  

Last year, fire razed 800ha of peat swamps between February and March, including 180ha of young oil palm trees planted by the Selangor Agriculture Development Corporation (PKPS). Another fire in July destroyed 200ha. The second blaze contributed to the brief spell of haze in the Klang Valley, which was aggravated by the transboundary air pollution from Central Kalimantan. 

The fires left the area barren and caused heavy soil subsidence. The landowners had to foot the fire-fighting bill – which came up to RM800,000 – involving 300 firemen who were stationed at the site for three weeks. 

Ironically, the fire-fighting efforts left behind several canals which had been dug to distribute water pumped from the adjacent mining lakes, accelerating drainage at the site. 

After the first fire last year, GEC initiated a survey of the area which revealed that the peat soil was rapidly drying up, making it highly vulnerable to fires. Water level at the site had dropped by 1m between May and June, despite heavy rainfall in May. 

GEC recommended that PKPS install temporary sluice gates at strategic places to stop the seepage. The result was immediate: vegetation returned and the water table rose. PKPS’s quick action probably spared the site from being ravaged by another fire. The mitigating measures cost PKPS a mere RM2,000. 

Simple but effective 

“GEC’s advice was simple but effective,” says PKPS development manager Ahmad Jamallullail Omar.  

“The July fire did not affect us at all but a neighbouring plantation was burnt. The sluice gates checked the drainage of water from the site and helped to maintain the water table level.” 

Jamallullail says RM1mil had been spent on land clearance, road construction, drainage, buying the saplings and planting them on the peat land allocated by the state government, but the threat of fire meant the oil palm plantation had to be abandoned.  

PKPS is planning to set up an abattoir on the remaining 180ha sited on sandy land, to replace the Shah Alam outlet which will make way for residential development. For now, a five-man patrol team maintains round-the-clock surveillance for any smoke or flame. 

While the state enterprise is studying other land use options for the site, GEC has suggested several low fire risk options: aquaculture, reforestation, wet agriculture like yam and lotus cultivation, and a peatland research centre.  

To plug the drainage problem posed by the presence of mining lakes at the outer fringes of the PKPS land, it was proposed that the lakes be turned into a water storage body for recreation in view of the developing township in Batang Berjuntai.  

The 30-year tin-mining concession comes to an end this year and the land is expected to be returned to the state government.  

Logging operations conducted between March and June last year had cleared the fringes of the Raja Musa reserve, which were not affected by the earlier fires, and left a lot of waste materials which can provide fuel for fires. Logging was purportedly carried out to extract valuable timber as the area had been earmarked for a township development which will include a public state university. 

Over-draining 

In December, GEC noted the drainage of water from the northern fringes of the Sungai Karang forest reserve – the other peat swamp forest reserve in north Selangor. Several of the canals constructed in the forest for logging are connected by culverts linking Sabak Bernam to Tanjung Malim, draining into Sg Bernam on the Perak border. 

The culverts cut through oil palm estates established five years ago by PKPS in an area which was formerly peat swamp forest. 

“This area is currently water-logged due to a combination of subsidence and inundation with water from the Sg Karang forest reserve and Sg Bernam. The estate operators have taken several measures, including deepening the drainage channels in the estate. This has induced rapid drainage of the forest which should be checked,” says Faizal. 

“Immediate steps should be taken to regulate the water table level to stabilise the area. To prevent fires in peat swamps the water table should be at least 20cm from the surface to ensure that the top layer is kept moist at all times.” 

Ongoing logging at the margin of the Raja Musa forest reserve has raised concerns over the lack of sustainable management of the forest. Despite guidelines prohibiting the use of canals in logging operations, this has not been observed. In fact, one canal was widened from 1m to 3m to facilitate the transportation of logs out of the jungle. 

IIlegal settlers on the fringes of the reserve often resort to open burning to clear land for planting vegetables – a practice widely suspected to be the cause of most peat fires in the area. 

A check with the Selangor Forestry Department shows that logging licences have been issued over the years for forested parcels within state land. A spokesman clarifies that guidelines for sustainable forest management do not apply to logging activities outside the forest reserves. 

Jurisdiction aside, the unsustainable practice is affecting peatlands on state land and in the forest reserve. It underscores the lack of a holistic approach in managing environmentally sensitive areas like peat swamp forests. After all, peat fires do not recognise man-made boundaries.  

Faizal proposed the setting up of a buffer zone between state land and the reserves, adding that water control measures are needed to regulate the water level in the drainage canals.  

Peaty appreciation  

The Raja Musa and Sg Karang forest reserves covering an area of 73,660ha were only gazetted in 1991. Prior to that, as state land, the forests were intensively logged with little attention given to the environment. 

“As a consequence, the forests are heavily depleted; 5% of the forests are covered with grass while the rest are covered with medium or low density trees. Only 1% of the area is high density forest,” Faizal points out. 

“The Raja Musa and Sg Karang forest reserves are vital water sources for the Tanjung Karang rice scheme, one of the eight granaries in the country. The reserves were created to ensure sufficient water supply as the rice cultivation scheme expanded over the years.”  

Faizal explains that water from Sg Bernam was diverted to Sg Tengi for irrigation purposes. 

Straddling Kuala Selangor and Sabak Bernam, the rice scheme covering an area of 19,857ha supports 9,440 families and produces 4.8 million tonnes of rice annually. 

On a positive note, Faizal reckons that the number and composition of seedlings, saplings and small trees show that the forest reserves are recuperating. In fact, the reserves serve as a natural habitat for rare and endangered species such as the tiger, tapir, elephant and rhinoceros.  

Coupled with a sound management plan for the reserves, it might just be possible to reverse the degradation caused by years of neglect and abuse.

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