January 5, 2021

Dr Rini Astuti and Dr Michelle Ann Miller (both NUS Asia Research Institute), along with Professor David Taylor (NUS Department of Geography and Asia Research Institute) comment on Indonesia’s shortcomings in meeting its 2020 peatland restoration target in Today. Their article, “Indonesia has not met target to restore peatlands that is key to prevent forest fires and haze. Here’s what it can do”, identifies key issues and outlines future recommendations for Indonesia’s Peatland Restoration Agency (IPRA).

Despite only achieving 45% of its peatland rehabilitation target, the IPRA has received a 4-year extension on its tenure to meet its goals. The researchers’ investigation into the IPRA’s situation has revealed the constraints it faces leading to its slow progress in the rehabilitation process. The restrictions include inadequate funding and limited power in implementing its programmes as the IPRA is a temporary agency without any legal authority. This has led to conflict between the agency and ministry, further complicating the project. Additionally, the IPRA has been unable to obtain a detailed, high resolution map from the Ministry of Environment to efficiently produce a precise peatland inventory and map. Limited information has slowed down the initial stages of the restoration project.

The article makes two main recommendations for the IPRA to aid its progress. Firstly, community engagement is encouraged, whereby the program engages farmers as partners in carrying out the preservation and development efforts. Secondly, the IPRA is urged to conduct monitoring using its Peatland Restoration Information and Monitoring System (Prims) to track any improvements and swiftly detect problems.

As the haze caused by Indonesia’s peatland fires has been affecting neighbouring countries including Singapore for many years, the scrutiny on Indonesia’s efforts to preserve peatlands has heightened immensely. The project’s success will reflect greatly on President Joko Widodo’s dedication to protecting Indonesia’s existing peatlands, and in doing so, contributing to climate change mitigation efforts.

Read the article here.