Environment
Decisions to reclaim swampland for development should be made with great care. The vast majority of the swamps are not suitable for any agricultural use. Large parts of the not suitable areas could be better recommended for Forestry. Conservation of the swamplands should aim at diversity of its environment.
Primary Swamp Forest in Papua:
Primary Swamp Forests like this one are becoming rare in the world.
Recovery after the forest has been destroyed will be difficult. Primary Swamp Forest
needs a top priority for conservation.
Large parts of the Primary Swamp Forests are also unsuitable or only marginally suitable for agriculture. They include for the greater part deep peat soils of extreme low fertility. Conservation of Primary Forests will be a much better choice; also economically. For severely degraded Swamp Forests the sustained Forestry option should be considered. See also the note on abandoned areas for the Forestry options.
At all costs tree crop plantations (mostly oil palm)should be avoided in peat soils that do not have a sustainable drainability after subsidence. Not sustainable drainability means that after a number of years you will end with peat soils that remain covered with completely degraded low bush and fern vegetation, most of the time under water and will never have again a value for forestry, waterlife or any other use whatever you try.
Melaleuca Bush Swamp Forest in South Kalimantan:
Considerable
parts of the swamplands are covered by this type of Bush Swamp Forest. Melaleuca is a
secondary re-growth of the original Primary Swamp Forest. In other parts Melaleuca Bush
seems part of the virgin landscape, although repeated bush fires in the swamps, caused by
humans, are suspected as having an influence. Melaleuca Forestry (including bee-keeping)
is considered in Vietnam an economic alternative for swampland development in the Mekong
Delta.
Presently Melaleuca Bush Swamp Forest is a threatened swamp environment. Often it has the potential to be converted into good riceland.
Marshes along a river in Papua:
A
great variety of migrating bird species can be found in the marshes. Local fishermen are
having a livelihood here. Fish species in the rivers often depend part of the year on the
marshes also.
Swamp areas proposed to be converted to Agricultural Uses require an Environmental Impact Analysis. See also the WebPages Potentials for recommendations concerning the development of swampland in Indonesia.
For a description of some environmental problems after reclamation see: Problems (with pictures).
See also Index