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27 July 2016 Indonesia
In 2015 Indonesia was hit by a disastrous haze event caused by extensive peatland fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan. In response, the Indonesian government launched a national Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) with an ambitious target of restoring over 2 million hectares of peatlands by 2020. Success will depend on a proper understanding of the functioning of peatlands. A new policy brief by Wetlands International and Tropenbos International calls for a thorough science-based approach, instead of some of the currently widely applied policies and management models, which have insufficiently considered the issue of peatland subsidence.
08 July 2016 Indonesia
A research at the Pawan River watershed to assess the potential of the HCV concept to provide the basis of landscape conservation planning was developed in mid - 2015. The Pawan watershed was chosen because it is representative of those areas in Indonesia that have experienced extensive changes in land cover, and because HCV activities have taken place there. The watershed provides an appropriate site to study the gap between potential and actual HCVs. This gap — and the high proportion of potential HCVs that are managed by the private sector — indicates a high risk of losing HCVs.
29 February 2016 Indonesia
Forty years ago Indonesia started operating nationwide land rehabilitation and reforestation programs. An ambitious program, enforced by Presidential Instruction was launched in 1976 (Inpres No. 8, 1976). The program conducted land rehabilitation (soil conservation) and reforestation on watershed boundary basis and the program was active till the end of 1980’s.
18 January 2016 Indonesia
An Intact Forest Landscapes (IFL) is a territory within today’s global extent of forest cover which contains forest and non-forest ecosystems minimally influenced by human economic activities, with an area of at least 500 km2 (50,000 hectare) and a minimal width of 10 km (measured as the diameter of a circle that is entirely inscribed within the boundaries of the territory) as defined by the World Resources Institute.
06 January 2016 Indonesia
Forests are another land where people can live in harmony; a place that can be called “home”. But a dying message has been sent from the forests – also from the Indonesian forest, telling us that it continues to degrade, to face serious threats and to drastically change its forest cover. Between 2009 and 2013, Indonesia has lost 4.6 million ha of forest area and now the remaining area is only about 82 million ha (Forest Watch Indonesia, 2014). The number will continue to shrink if we don’t do anything to save the remaining.