Can We Simultaneously Restore Peatlands and Improve Livelihoods? Exploring Community Home Yard Innovations in Utilizing Degraded Peatland

Niken Sakuntaladewi,Bambang Tejo Premono,Dony Rachmanadi,Adnan Ardhana,Mohamad Iqbal,Kushartati Budiningsih,Tri Wira Yuwati,Ramawati Ramawati,Daniel Mendham,Dian Charity Hidayat,Sri Lestari,Bondan Winarno

doi:10.3390/land11020150

Abstract

Peatlands support the daily needs of people in many villages in Indonesia, including in Central Kalimantan Province. They provide the natural resources to enable fisheries, agriculture, plantations, and forestry. However, peatland utilization comes with various challenges, including fire, soil acidity, inundation, low fertility, and limited choice of suitable species. Many of the current uses of peatland can result in its degradation, oxidation, and increased risk of peat fire. Avoiding further environmental degradation will require the development of new technology that allows the community to both earn a livelihood and protect the peatland. In this study we assessed a range of technologies applied by 14 farmers at Tumbang Nusa village, Central Kalimantan province, in managing degraded peatlands in their home yard for agricultural business. The study shows that for endemic peatland species, good success can be achieved if they are planted directly. However, for species endemic to mineral land, there are four technologies applied by farmers in managing degraded peatland. The choice of technologies is influenced by their economic capacity/cash flow flexibility and their understanding of peatlands. Technologies intended to adapt to land inundation include the use of polybags, development of raised beds, and making peat mounds with mineral soil in the centre. Technologies to address the acidity and soil fertility include amelioration with dolomite lime and fertilizer. The use of polybags filled with peat soil is the easiest technology to adopt and can be conducted by all family members. However, a farmer’s choice of technology needs to always consider the potential environmental impacts in addition to increasing soil fertility so that peat conservation is maintained.

Highlights

Indonesia has around 15 Mha of tropical peatlands, most of which is situated on the three islands of Kalimantan (5 Mha), Sumatra (6 Mha), andPapua (3 Mha) [1,2]
We studied the community experience of peatland management in their home yard, including understanding the planting system and plant species cultivated in peatland home yard, and the problems and advantages of the implementation of technologies by the community
Those who were migrants had been living in Tumbang Nusa village for some time and had married local people

Summary

Introduction

Indonesia has around 15 Mha of tropical peatlands (the largest area of any country), most of which is situated on the three islands of Kalimantan (5 Mha), Sumatra (6 Mha), andPapua (3 Mha) [1,2]. Peatland in its natural state functions as a large store of carbon [4,5] and water [6,7]. After being drained, they can be developed for agriculture, forestry, and energy [8,9,10], this can result in loss of ecosystem services such as regulation of the hydrological cycle [4,9,10], hosting a rich biodiversity [11,12,13], carbon sequestration [14,15], and provision of livelihoods for the local people [16,17]. In trying to restore and maintain the long-term sustainability of peatlands, the Indonesian government has been confronted with two major issues: frequent fire that prevents effective revegetation and ensuring sustainable livelihoods for those people who depend on access to peatlands

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Discussion

Conclusion