stock/reservoir and irrigation functions, precipitation and evapotranspiration are
closely related, and without any of them, water management will not be successful.
Unfortunately, until recently or even to date, peatland management has not received
much recognition in terms of the importance of water management because water
management generally means only drainage or drainage modified by canal blocking.
Alternatively, even when it has been recognized, there has been an insufficient effort
with respect to proper management practices or a history of peatland management
practices have been intentionally omitted from consideration.
3.3 History of Tropical Peatland Management in Indonesia
Tropical peatlands were little utilized in Southeast Asia before the Second World
War, because of their difficult movement and the possibility of unknown disease in
the forests. The margins of the peatlands, such as the transitional zone from
mangrove and the inland edge of peatlands, showed very frequent use only for
rubber and sago gardens or rice fields (Anderson 1961; Anderson 1963). Unfortunately, the peatlands had little economic value; the main product was latex, which
was obtained by tapping the Jelutong tree (Dyera costulata, D. lowii), a large tree
that can grow naturally on peatlands. Jelutong latex was an essential source of
chewing gum and has been considered a valuable non-wood commodity in peatlands
to date. In contrast, wood extractions were confined to forest fringes with easy access
from rivers (Anderson 1961).
In the Batang Hari river basin in Jambi province, Sumatra, the readily accessible
uplands have been previously used for rice fields, but the land was converted to
rubber plantations such that the rubber was easily bartered in exchange for goods.
With the appearance of rubber around the beginning of the twentieth century, land
use changed dramatically in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. Consequently,
people should find other lands to produce food and switch to wetness-rice (paddy
rice) cultivation in the flooded lowland (swamp) from upland rice cultivation. Land
use, such as rubber on the upland and wetness-rice in the wetland, had become
common in the 1920s (Furukawa 1994).
Until the 1970s, wood logs from peatlands were generally utilized only by local
people to build the raised-floor houses around the narrow areas of the edge of
peatlands. Afterward, small-scale and selective logging was initiated, which was
considered to have a low impact on logging and to increase the resiliency of the
forests.
Commercial logging companies have been implemented since 1970, and they
received logging rights issued by the Ministry of Forestry (MoF) to harvest timber in
a specific area. The name of the license has been called Hak Pengusahaan Hutan
(right of forestry business, HPH), and its valid term was only 20 years at first but
extendable in the case of MoF approval. The regulation of the HPH was revised in
2007. As a result, the period of the logging license has been changed between
56 years and 100 years. Additionally, the MoF determined the minimum diameter
3 Large-Scale Practice on Tropical Peatland Eco-Management
93
closely related, and without any of them, water management will not be successful.
Unfortunately, until recently or even to date, peatland management has not received
much recognition in terms of the importance of water management because water
management generally means only drainage or drainage modified by canal blocking.
Alternatively, even when it has been recognized, there has been an insufficient effort
with respect to proper management practices or a history of peatland management
practices have been intentionally omitted from consideration.
3.3 History of Tropical Peatland Management in Indonesia
Tropical peatlands were little utilized in Southeast Asia before the Second World
War, because of their difficult movement and the possibility of unknown disease in
the forests. The margins of the peatlands, such as the transitional zone from
mangrove and the inland edge of peatlands, showed very frequent use only for
rubber and sago gardens or rice fields (Anderson 1961; Anderson 1963). Unfortunately, the peatlands had little economic value; the main product was latex, which
was obtained by tapping the Jelutong tree (Dyera costulata, D. lowii), a large tree
that can grow naturally on peatlands. Jelutong latex was an essential source of
chewing gum and has been considered a valuable non-wood commodity in peatlands
to date. In contrast, wood extractions were confined to forest fringes with easy access
from rivers (Anderson 1961).
In the Batang Hari river basin in Jambi province, Sumatra, the readily accessible
uplands have been previously used for rice fields, but the land was converted to
rubber plantations such that the rubber was easily bartered in exchange for goods.
With the appearance of rubber around the beginning of the twentieth century, land
use changed dramatically in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. Consequently,
people should find other lands to produce food and switch to wetness-rice (paddy
rice) cultivation in the flooded lowland (swamp) from upland rice cultivation. Land
use, such as rubber on the upland and wetness-rice in the wetland, had become
common in the 1920s (Furukawa 1994).
Until the 1970s, wood logs from peatlands were generally utilized only by local
people to build the raised-floor houses around the narrow areas of the edge of
peatlands. Afterward, small-scale and selective logging was initiated, which was
considered to have a low impact on logging and to increase the resiliency of the
forests.
Commercial logging companies have been implemented since 1970, and they
received logging rights issued by the Ministry of Forestry (MoF) to harvest timber in
a specific area. The name of the license has been called Hak Pengusahaan Hutan
(right of forestry business, HPH), and its valid term was only 20 years at first but
extendable in the case of MoF approval. The regulation of the HPH was revised in
2007. As a result, the period of the logging license has been changed between
56 years and 100 years. Additionally, the MoF determined the minimum diameter
3 Large-Scale Practice on Tropical Peatland Eco-Management
93