Jakarta, March 22 (Antara) - Indonesia is considered to have been successful in reducing its forest and peatland fires, which often disturb the activities of people not only at home but also in neighboring countries.
But due to the extensive acreage of its peatlands, which some claim to reach 20 million hectares, Indonesia still needs more experts. According to Director of the Indonesian Institute of Agroecology (INAgri), Syahroni, Indonesia needs more peat experts to formulate a prudent strategy to ensure optimal utilization.
While it still needs peatland experts, the country has demonstrated its success in managing its peatlands. It has even set itself as an example of a successful country in peatland management.
Indonesia has brought this peatland diplomacy to a global level, especially at the Global Peatland Initiative Working Group Meeting in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo.
For the success of Indonesia, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, at the meeting, was not only an ordinary participant but also a keynote speaker in ministerial dialogue at the international meeting.
Nurbaya has proudly stated that Indonesia, as the founder of the Asia-Africa movement, is ready to share experiences and help other countries to advance peat management through South-South and Triangular cooperation. Indonesia is ready to roll out plans to establish the Tropical Peat Research Center in Indonesia.
In the next few years, Indonesia's peatlands will be recognized as world record.
With 15 million hectares of peatland, Indonesia has distinctive features with a variety of peat ecosystems, such as coastal peat that are found on the islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua.
Indonesia has peatlands in the Mahakam delta, East Kalimantan; in Kapuas, West Kalimantan; peat in the highlands as in Papua; and peat swamps in Kalimantan, which are similar to peat in Congo.
Nurbaya has successfully brought Indonesian diplomacy in peat management to a global level. Diplomatically, Nurbaya explained that the Government of Indonesia had learnt a valuable lesson from the large peatland fires in 2015.
The government responded to the fire using very strict and thorough policies to control and minimize the recurrence of this incident.
The result is fantastic; within 2 years, from 2015 to 2017, Indonesia has managed to reduce the fire point as much as 93.6 per cent.
This result proves the government's seriousness in preventing forest and peatland fires as a national priority. President Joko Widodo has successfully implemented his policies effectively in the field.
"Strong cooperation between various parties, especially the private sector, has becomes the key," Nurbaya remarked.
"Global Peatland Initiatives" (GPI) is a global initiative taken by several countries, international bodies, and experts to preserve peatlands around the world.
Peatlands, as the largest organic carbon reserves in the world, should be maintained, so as to prevent it from getting burnt.
"All GPI members are working together for better conservation, restoration, and management efforts of peatlands," he asserted.
The Indonesian delegation, led by Nurbaya, shared the success of Indonesia in peatland management. Success is expected to be an inspiration as well as a reference for other countries that are working for the same.
Indonesia has managed to renew and encourage effective peat moratorium and law enforcement.
Approximately, 500 cases of forest and peat fires were brought to justice, including one of the phenomenal decisions of a land concessionaire found guilty of paying US$1.2 million in compensation to the Government of Indonesia.
This builds public confidence in the seriousness of the Indonesian Government in enforcing the law against the parties who commit environmental crimes.
As a coexisting country, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo are highly impressed by Indonesia's success. They are very interested to learn more about the institutional framework run by the Government of Indonesia.
The Peat Restoration Agency (BRG), as an integral part that supports a major strategy for peatland management, is run by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
Until 2018, BRG's program has covered 2.49 million hectares, and some 1.39 million hectares have been covered by the private sector.
Nurbaya stressed that one of the keys to Indonesia's success is its ability to effectively involve all parties in this great work, from community organizations to private parties.
Land concession holders are very proactive in initiating collaboration in renewing technology and also educating farmers for sustainable peatland management.
GPI member countries have learned much from the exchange of knowledge, policy initiatives, and techniques in peatland management.
Indonesia, which has relatively been advanced in peatland management at national and local level, supports research in the field of restoration and management of peatlands.
It also supports the development of the monitoring system of water bodies and vegetation, website development, and online portals for maps and peatland uses. This includes information on the biophysical, social, legal status, and administrative aspects of the pilot districts.
Indonesia also promotes the development of its "Village Cares for Peat" concept, as a model for integrated peatland management, involving local communities in peatland conservation activities. ***4***(A014/INE)EDITED BY INE/B003 (T.A014/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 22-03-2018 18:02:4 |
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