Peatland Management Supports Climate Change Mitigation

At present, not many countries have included peat management in their nationally determined contribution documents to emission reduction. The management of peatland can support climate change mitigation efforts.

KOMPAS/EMANUEL EDI SAPUTRA

Several officers tried to extinguish peatland fires in Sungai Raya Dalam, Sungai Raya District, Kubu Raya Regency, West Kalimantan, Friday (10/2/2023).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Peatland restoration as well as its proper management in several parts of Indonesia can support climate change mitigation efforts. However, so far not many countries have included the aspect of peat management in their emission reduction nationally determined contribution (NDC) documents.

This was revealed at a webinar titled From Science to Policies: The Major Role of Tropical Peatland in Climate Change Mitigation in Jakarta, on Monday (15/5/2023). The program was filled with the accounts of academicians and peatland practitioners, domestic and foreign.

A professor of research at the Ecology and Ethnobiology Research Center, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Haruni Krisnawati, said peatland constituted a unique ecosystem due to its capability to store 30 to 40 percent of the world’s carbon. The amount stored is twice as much as the carbon in the world’s forestland.

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“The majority of peatland is distributed in Asia and North America. Around 12 percent of peatland in the world has dried out and been degraded, contributing to 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emission as a result of the human factor,” she said

Haruni emphasized the importance of restoring and managing the peatland ecosystem in order to achieve global climate goals. But the potential for peat management is not much contained yet in the emission reduction NDC documents.

Of the 148 countries in possession of peatland, only 19 of them or 13 percent of the total have included peat management in NDC documents.

The peatland management inclusion or approach especially in the tropical region is very important in its climate change mitigation action.

In the first cycle of NDC formulation in 2015 to 2019, only seven countries included peat management. Later in 2020, peat management was officially referred to in NDC documents by the United Kingdom and Canada.

“The peatland management inclusion or approach especially in the tropical region is very important in its climate change mitigation action. Sustainable restoration and management of tropical peatland can also support the conservation of biodiversity and promote the socio-economic aspect of the population,” she pointed out.

KOMPAS/IRMA TAMBUNAN

Peatland fire in the Kumpeh area, Muaro Jambi Regency, Jambi, during an air patrol by the Jambi Karhutla Task Force Team and the National Disaster Management Agency, Tuesday (8/10/2019).

According to Haruni, a number of studies have identified the potential of peatland to reduce emission. Collaboration between researchers is needed to increase their calculation in reporting emission reduction in this peatland sector.

Meanwhile, head of the Restoration Technical Working Group of the Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM), Agus Yasin, said Indonesia was one of the countries with the vastest peatland in the world, covering 13.4 million hectares. Peatland in Indonesia is scattered over several regions, which are Sumatra (37.8 percent), Kalimantan (34.6 percent), Papua (27.2 percent) and Sulawesi (0.4 percent).

This damage gives rise to emission, loss of biodiversity and forest fires.

“A considerable part of the peatland in Indonesia has been converted into plantations and agricultural areas. Canal drainage has become the main cause of peatland damage. This damage gives rise to emission, loss of biodiversity and forest fires,” he said.

BRGM data recorded that Indonesia has 408 peat hydrological units (KHG), constituting peat ecosystems located between two rivers, between a river and the sea or a marsh. Of the total, 178 KHGs have canals covering 239,803.

Restoration efforts

The peat restoration and management efforts undertaken by the BRGM so far have focused on rewetting, revegetation and revitalization of the local residents’ welfare. From its founding in 2016 until 2022, the BRGM built 7,697 canal partitions, carried out replanting on 2,147 hectares of peatland and empowered 1,238 groups of people.

In 2022, the BRGM restored 244,915 hectares of peatland, built 451 canal partitions, conducted 220-hectare peatland revegetation and maintained the first-year revegetation of 170 hectares.

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“Modified canal partitions can be used for the transportation access of the residents’ traditional boats. Revegetation meanwhile indicates that plants have grown very well to the height of 5 meters for 3 to 4 years,” said Agus.

The BRGM has developed 746 independent peat-care villages (DMPG). To be in harmony with peat restoration programs, DMPG activities cover the planning and formation of village zones, the realization of social forestry and agrarian reform, the resolution of conflict, the empowerment of the rural economy and the prevention of forest and land fires.

“We mobilize facilitators in each village and they will facilitate spatial mapping. Facilitators will also enhance local knowledge and innovation while getting involved in integrated peatland restoration,” he added. (MTK)

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.