Peatland protection & restoration - Sumatra, Indonesia
The Sumatra Merang peatland project is bringing degraded peatlands back to life by protecting and rewetting 22,900 ha of peatland rainforest in Sumatra, Indonesia thus preventing the release of over 2.6 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere so far. The project has also improved a critical biodiversity region that is home to over 10 critically Endangered Species and 19 Vulnerable Species.
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Project information
Merang-Kepayang Peat Dome
The Project lies in the Merang-Kepayang peat dome in Indonesia. The area is one of the largest peat swamp areas in South Sumatra (over 3.5 times the size of Manhattan) and a key conservation area, critical for hundreds of unique species. Over the past several decades, economic development due to global capitalistic pressures has pushed local Indonesian people to convert their precious ecosystems to supply the world with popular commodities like palm oil, pulpwood, timber, aquaculture and many more.
The project area itself was at risk from being converted for the pulpwood industry and had seen considerable peat degradation and loss of ecosystem services. The project activities have been designed to restore the degraded peatland by methodically rewetting the area via the constructions of compaction dams and conducts daily patrolling to protect the area from poaching, illegal fire setting and land use. The project is also working effectively with the surrounding villages on education, training, employment and health, thus also improving local livelihoods and alleviating human pressures on peatlands.
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Intervention
Peatland Protection & Restoration
Location
Sumatra, Indonesia
Standards
VCS, CCB
Methodology
VM0004
Sustainable Goals
Project performance
The Earthly Rating
The Earthly rating is the industry-first holistic project assessment. Earthly researchers analyse 106 data points, aggregating information across the three vital pillars of carbon, biodiversity and people. Projects in Earthly's marketplace all exceed a minimum score of 5/10.
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4,600,459
Tonnes of CO2e prevented from being released
13
Critically Engaged or Endangered species protected
400-500
Residents with improved household water resources
Project impact
Local Impact
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The image shows the change that occurred in the area from 2015 to 2022. On 2015 and 2016 images, a post-fire disruption is visible. It decreases in time, with the significant change occurring between 2016 and 2017 with image and the project area becoming more green. Any changes visible after that time, occur outside of the project area.
Project area: Through Time
Indonesia has the third largest rainforests in the world (Rainforest Action Network). Protecting the unique ecosystems in Indonesia is crucial since the forests here have the highest percentage of species diversity in the world. One such important ecosystem is the Indonesian peatlands. Globally, peatlands are one of the most effective carbon sinks and store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests (UNEP).
There was a catastrophic fire event (for the closed canopy forest) in 2015, the effects of it are still visible in the forest loss in 2016. Other uncontrolled fires occurred in 2004 and 2006, which caused increased deforestation in the landscape. Commercial agriculture and plantation forests expansion in the surrounding areas are said to disrupt the hydrology or the landscape, which results in increased fire events. Without the project this area would be converted into an industrial forest plantation, which would in turn further disrupt the hydrology of the landscape and reduce the water table levels, accelerate the release of the GHG from the peat and increase the risk of fire.
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Positive for People
Despite no stakeholders living inside the project area, a key aspect of the Project involves improving the surrounding community that rely on the landscape for their livelihoods so that their work on the project area is long-term and sustainable.
So far, 21 traditional fishermen and two small-scale palm oil farmers have been identified that rely on the project area for livelihood and income. The project will support rural poverty reduction for these specific stakeholders and broader communities by generating employment with a target to hire 80% of its field staff from these communities. In addition, the Project prioritises gender balance and aims to employ 25% women as project staff, along with a community development component targeting a number of women’s groups in nearby villages and settlements.
On education, the project has a goal of educating at least 45% of the total population in nearby villages throughout the project lifetime. Between 2016 and 2019, 127 students were educated, including 64 women and three students who have now come back as teachers in the community. Within the project lifetime, the project also intends to improve access to health programs of all 5752 residents of near-by villages. Other associated community actions include community garbage and waste cleanup initiatives, co-financing for the construction of household rainwater catchment systems, improvement of elementary and middle school sanitation facilities, and enrichment and maintenance of local school libraries.
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Good for Earth
Damaged peatlands have an acute risk of fire that further exacerbates the degradation of surrounding peatlands. The project is using a two-pronged approach in rehabilitating peatlands.
First, the project supports a daily forest patrol system on the ground along with daily weather monitoring of the area using a Satellite based Early Warning System (EWS) to prevent occurance of any new fires. No sign of illegal logging and fires was found during the monitoring period between 2016-18. Second, the project is actively restoring damaged peat areas through reforestation, assisted natural regeneration and canal blocking (which is essentially a process of blocking the canals that were originally established to drain water out of peats). 91 compaction dams were installed for peatland rewetting, bringing the total to more than 180 so far in the project lifetime, resulting in a water table rise of over 6cm. These activities will improve habitat regeneration for important species affected negatively by forest conversion, improve soil and water quality and enhance ecosystem services in the area.
The project also employs standardised and well-recognised surveying tools (camera traps, listening posts, vegetation surveys, transects) to continuously monitor the biodiversity on multiple levels, including threats of poaching, illegal hunting etc. Notable among the species within the project are the Sumatran tiger, rhinoceros, gibbons, hornbill, sun bear and many others. Within the monitoring period of 2016-18, 13 new species were recorded within the project area. It is estimated that these project benefits will have a spillover effect on the Sembilang-Berbak National Park and the Muaro Jambi peat swamp that lie around the project area, thus enhancing the broader ecology of the entire region.
Project gallery
Project Pictures
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