Trembesi tree and climate change: 'snake oil' solution in Indonesia

Reader's Forum Jakarta Post 19 Jan 10;

The Trembesi tree, a native Latin American plant, will help Indonesia cope with climate change as it can absorb 28 tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year, a minister says. “In the next five years, trembesi trees will absorb huge emissions in Indonesia to tackle the climate change,” Gusti told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono distributed millions of trembesi seedlings (Samanea Saman) to local administrations to be planted in an effort to protect the environment. The launch was held at the State Palace, attended by a number of ministers and governors.

Your comments:

It sounds like another snake oil salesman has been doing the rounds if they think that the trembesi tree (known elsewhere in the world as the rain tree) is going to help solve climate change.

Yes, it is a nice tree as it provides good shade, but not much else, no edible fruits. Because of their aggressive root system and dense shading it is difficult to grow anything else under their very wide canopy, and its roots will readily dry out the surrounding land, including rice paddies.

There are many other useful tree species, including those native to Indonesia, that are perfectly capable of matching the carbon sequestration of the trembesi tree but with added advantage of producing edible fruit and/or valuable timber.

Mahogany and tamarind (pohon asam) are just two well-tried trees in Indonesia that produce valuable timber and fruit respectively. Is this just another one of those one-size-fits-all, “magic bullet” solutions like jatropha and tilapia that was going to be introduced to every habitat in every corner of Indonesia to solve climate change and food protein – irrespective of the suitability to local conditions, local culture or environmental values?

By all means plant trees, but be more imaginative. Trembesi is just another tree and may be nothing more than a distraction from the real issues of climate change. Better still, do more for climate change by stopping the massive illegal logging and deforestation of what is left of our beautiful native forests in Indonesia. Then we would not have to revert to planting introduced trees and believing in any magical powers of the trembesi (rain) tree.

Nairdah
Sydney