News Update

Adaptation to climatic changes is imperative

PHOTO: A tropical rain forest can absorb industrial and transportation exhaust gas emissions, which cause global warming. The mountain zone in the nature conservation area of Ir Juanda Forest Park, West Java, is an example. (JP/Bambang Parlupi)

Bambang Parlupi, Contributor, Jakarta

The natural disasters that have recently occurred in the country are believed to be caused by global warming. Typhoons, tsunamis, flash flooding and severe drought are viewed by most experts as evidence of the climatic changes that are now affecting Indonesia. Laboratory and field research also seems to support this theory.

An environmental observer from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Dr. Heru Santoso, has emphasized that the public needs to be prepared to face climatic changes that are already affecting the country.

"As a consequence of these changes, rainfall in Java and Bali is predicted to drop significantly," said Heru, coordinator for the Asia Tropical Forest and Climate Change Project, during a discussion on adaptation to climatic changes with environmental activists in Jakarta recently.

Heru commented that prolonged droughts in several regions would pose serious threats to survival, as could be the case with many other natural disasters resulting from changes in the global climate. Therefore, the government should set specific targets in order to deal with such potential calamities.

"An approach to government policies and local communities is one of the methods worth adopting," Heru said, adding that an early warning system for potential disasters also required immediate introduction.

According to Heru, the most likely effects to emerge from climatic changes in Indonesia include more severe wildfires and high-intensity rainfall creating a greater volume of water on the earth's surface. These changes could, in turn, form patterns of land movement. He recommended that the government develop a zoning system and conduct a replanting scheme, especially in critical areas. These measures also would serve to wake up people about the dangers of climatic change.

However, the concept of adaptation is not easy to apply. Heru suggests that it may be applied by incorporating climatic change issues in government policies, such as in regional bylaws or in other regulations. He suggested that the issue of climatic change be incorporated in the school curriculum.

"The impact of these changes may be experienced for the next 30 to 50 years," he said.

An example is the floods in Jakarta that occurred earlier this year, which may also have resulted from climatic conditions. Flooding in Jakarta may begin to occur annually rather than every five years, as it has done in the past.

Monique Sumampouw, an environmental activist from the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia, said that there was a lack of data on climatic change in Indonesia. However, the impact of the changes has been noticeable, such as the damage to one of the coral reef zones around the island of Bali.

"We can no longer prevent whitening and permanent damage to reefs," she said.

This is similar to the damage that has occurred on several parts of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Although, in those areas the reefs have been covered with netting to help shield them from the effects of global warming.

The global effects of climatic change over the last several years are indicated by the various disasters that have occurred in different countries. Global climate observer Dr. R.K. Pachauri, in his report to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), noted that the natural disasters of 2005 were, according to world climate experts, almost definitely resulting from global changes. It is believed that 2005 was a year marked with record-breaking proof of the climatic changes occurring in our world.

Among the spectacular climatic events that occurred in 2005, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration recorded that the average global temperature rose 0.01 degrees centigrade higher. Not surprisingly, that year global warming caused large-scale whitening of coral reefs from the Caribbean Sea to the Florida Keys. In the same year the largest number of major hurricanes ever was recorded, with wind speeds of over 119 km per hour.

The Indonesian government attempted to control climate changes through the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in July 2004, thus allowing Indonesia to participate in the lowering of greenhouse gas emissions via the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

On Aug. 1, 1994, Indonesia also ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which seeks to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a degree that would not endanger life.

A climate is generally defined as the average conditions of weather comprising temperature, humidity, wind and rainfall in a certain region on the earth's surface, for a period of 30 years or more. A climate arises from the irregular distribution of energy on earth as it revolves around the sun for approximately 365 days and rotates on its axis for 24 hours.

People often ask why climatic changes occur. According to the publication of the Climate and Energy Program of WWF Indonesia, climatic changes, or climate variable changes to be exact, are changes in temperature, air pressure, wind speed and humidity caused by global warming. Warming of the earth's surface is caused by the excessive greenhouse effect on the atmosphere.

Human activity has become the main cause of changes to the composition of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. According to CIFOR researcher Heru, the activities that produce such gases are those of industries, power generators, transportation and other operations that burn certain materials. Natural events producing the same greenhouse gases include volcanic eruptions, marsh gas emissions and forest fires.

The utilization of fossil fuels, agricultural and animal husbandry activities as well as uncontrolled land conversion can also produce greenhouse gases. Consequently, there is an increased concentration of these gases in the atmosphere, which include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrogen oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).

The greenhouse effect, global warming and climatic changes are thus interrelated. Sunlight which is not absorbed by the earth's surface is reflected back into the atmosphere. Our planet is enveloped in short-wave rays, which after being reflected become long-wave infrared rays. However, some of this warm energy cannot escape from the atmosphere because of the high composition of atmospheric gases.

As a result, the warm energy that should be released into the stratosphere rebounds on the earth's troposphere, which results in the return of extra energy to the earth. This excessive greenhouse effect and the disturbing composition of gases in the atmosphere, triggers an increase in the earth's temperature and thus leads to global warming. Combined with air pressure and wind changes, this leads to other changes in climatic conditions.

The term 'greenhouse' is derived from a method used by farmers to grow pants in regions with moderate climates, or four seasons. Farmers grow vegetables and flowers in buildings with glass sides and roofs to maintain the warmth inside. Sunlight entering such greenhouses is reflected by the objects or surfaces within, which turns into warm energy trapped inside. The earth's atmosphere produces the same effect.

For further information on climatic changes, websites connected to global warming and the greenhouse effect can be consulted. In Indonesia, several independent environmental organizations and government agencies provide such information that can be accessed by the public. These include; www.climatechange.meneglh.go.id, www.bdg.lapan.go.id, www.cdm.org.id, www.walhi.or.id and www.wwf.or.id.

Note: original article is available on-line at http://www.thejakartapost.com