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Forests absorb CO2 emitted from fossil-fuel combustion, and many believe this absorption helps to mitigate global warming. The Siberian taiga is the world’s largest forest but has recently been releasing large amounts of CO2 owing to the outbreak of numerous fires. This problem is exacerbated by the thawing of the region’s permafrost, which has led to the release of large amounts of the greenhouse gas methane into the atmosphere.
A collaborative project to help prevent the spread of Siberian forest fires through early detection and containment is spearheaded by Hokkaido University and includes the University of Alaska and the Russian Academy of Sciences. To contribute to this project, in 2003 JAL commenced the detection and reporting of forest fires from the air above Siberia.
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Over the course of a year when a large number of forest fires break out in Siberia, some 200,000 km2, a land area equivalent to more than half the size of Japan, can be lost to fire, releasing large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. When 1 ha (0.01 km2) of Siberian forest burns, that translates into approximately 40 tons of carbon released. The amount of carbon the surrounding forest can absorb over a year, however, is just 0.4 tons. As a result, calculations suggest that we will not be in a position to have that lost carbon reclaimed unless forests lost to fire are replenished 100 times over. It is also worth noting that when trees are lost to fire, CO2 escapes from the earth over a period of decades via a process known as soil respiration. And as permafrost thaws, it releases methane. When the Siberian taiga is hit by forest fires, it switches from being a “carbon sink,” or repository, to a source emitting greenhouse gases.
The most effective method of containing forest fires is to use satellites for detection. At present, forest-fire detection is carried out by satellites put into space by NASA, but false identification does occur on occasion when the equipment fails to operate properly. Hence, in order to obtain accurate data it is essential to conduct data gathering not only from satellites but also from aircraft. As aircraft are able to gather broad-based data, it is extremely useful to conduct such monitoring. JAL’s European routes periodically fly over the same flight path, which also yields the benefit of being able to observe changes at the same location over a long period of time.
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Hideki Kudo, 747-400 captain and member of the global-environment committee
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A global-environment committee was established in the Flight Operations division in April 2006. This organization originally grew out of volunteer activities by flight crew who wished to make a contribution to the environment.
As we normally use large amounts of fuel in flying our aircraft, we try, as much as possible, to save on fuel consumption and conserve the environment. To achieve that, we study fuel-efficient flying styles and engage in awareness activities to disseminate that knowledge to other pilots. Other activities include detecting and reporting Siberian forest fires, which we have carried out since 2003. Pilots are in a position to discover and report fires from the air, and we enthusiastically take part in this activity.
At an altitude of 10,000 m, if conditions are right it is possible to see for approximately 400 km on all sides. If we spot smoke, we make a judgment on the approximate distance from our present location and make a report to the Operation Control Center. That information is then relayed to Hokkaido University. We have used an integrated reporting format since 2006, which we have arranged and improved so as to streamline the process of reporting forest fires.
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June–July
2003 |
May–July
2004 |
June–August
2005 |
June–August
2006 |
June–August
2007 |
June–September
2008 |
June–September
2009 |
| Reports |
101 |
77 |
30 |
138 |
167 |
252 |
142 |
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OISCA International, an NGO established in 1961, has been conducting various activities in the fields of agriculture and rural development, human resources development, and environmental preservation in Japan and developing countries with the cooperation of governments, corporations and associations for over 40 years. Since FY2006, JAL has been supporting OISCA’s "Inner Mongolia Greening Project Against Desertification" with "JAL Miles for Eco," a mileage fund-raising campaign held each year in the Environmental Month of June. This campaign allows JAL Mileage Bank members the opportunity to donate their mileage, and in turn JAL adds the equivalent amount in cash to its own contributions to OISCA.
OISCA has constructed various facilities in Inner Mongolia, such as a research and training center and greenhouses, where a wide range of experiments have been conducted, e.g. choosing appropriate plants to grow in the desert and planting seeds from aircraft. According to a report from the Director of the research center, Satoshi Togashi of Chiba University Graduate School, Horticultural Science Research Center, their efforts have begun to bear fruit. For example, they have been breeding emus as potential desert farm animals as they do not eat up the root while grazing, and cultivating medical plants and experimenting with the production of herbal medicines. In this way, activities to provide capacity for sustainable livelihoods to local nomads while preventing desertification have started to get under way. We will widely disseminate such information over the Internet, establish greening and anti-desertification techniques with the cooperation of local governments, local NGOs, specialists and researchers, and promote the application of such techniques to other organizations with similar activities.
For OISCA's "Inner Mongolia Greening Project Against Desertification", visit  OISCA's website here.
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