Description
In response to the forest fires and haze in Indonesia in 2015, the President of the Republic of Indonesia issued Presidential Regulation No. 1 of 2016 regarding the Peat Restoration Agency (BRG). The Peat Restoration Agency (BRG) was established with a mandate to accelerate the restoration of 2 million hectares of peatland in 7 priority provinces and restore its hydrological functions by 2020.
To achieve this target, BRG collaborates with communities, the private sector, development partners, and civil society organizations. Specifically, for the village development program, BRG targets 1,000 peat villages located within and around 1,030,000 hectares of peatland (BRG, 2017) as restoration targets under the Peat Care Village (DPG) program.
Since 2018, KEMITRAAN has been tasked with supporting the implementation of DPG activities in 109 villages (equivalent to 11% of BRG’s total restoration target) across 7 provinces under BRG’s operational area. The total peatland area covered in the DPG project is approximately 110,000 hectares. The aim of this project is to facilitate the formulation and implementation of peatland restoration policies in 109 DPG villages and an additional 150 villages in 7 provinces.
The expected outcomes of the DPG project are:
- Sustainable peatland management is applied in DPG villages;
- Peat restoration is integrated into village planning policies, and tenure rights of communities are enhanced in DPG villages;
- The sustainable peatland management model of DPG is well-documented and effective, allowing for scaling up and replication.
Through this program, KEMITRAAN has established the Peat Governance Program through the DPG Project for village and regional governments to prepare for the sustainability of peat restoration post-2020. To implement peat restoration activities on the ground, the project has placed 109 village facilitators in each village. These facilitators play a key role in engaging communities in implementing triple-bottom line restoration (rehydration, revegetation, and revitalization) for all peat restoration activities.
Achievements
The collaboration between KEMITRAAN and local governments has resulted in the sustainability of peat restoration through the establishment of the Village Area Plan in Siak Regency, Riau Province, and Hulu Sungai Utara Regency, South Kalimantan Province. With the issuance of Regent Regulations, the Village Area Plans now allow the use of local government budgets (APBD) to build inter-village cooperation for various peat restoration activities. The Village Zone Policy is regulated under the Ministry of Village Affairs. This policy has also provided an opportunity to build collaboration between village governments in accordance with the characteristics of Peat Hydrological Unity Areas (KHG).
Donor
Royal Norwegian Embassy
Project Period
October 2018 – March 2020
Implementing Partners
Peat Restoration Agency and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry
