degradation, and short-cutting systems exhaust nutrients, which are essential for tree
growth, in poor nutrient soils.
To increase food production, in 1995, the president issued a decree concerning
the development of peatlands for agriculture (Presidential Decree 1995), generally
known as the Mega Rice Project (MRP) in Central Kalimantan. In the project, a total
of approximately one million hectares of primary peatland forests were converted to
rice fields and other agricultural lands. According to the statistical office in Central
Kalimantan province (BPS Kalteng 2007), rice production in the wet land
(or organic soil in degraded peatland) area averaged 2.7–2.8 ton/ha and was estimated to be below the Indonesian average of 4.6 ton/ha. However, some reports
indicate that rice production was barely self-consumed as a food source, and the
economic returns from rice production were generally lower. In fact, common rice
production appears to have been 0.8 ton/ha once a year (Boehm and Siegert 1999).
Similarly, in West Kalimantan province, rice production on peatlands under the
migration policy that began in the 1980s has been only 0.4 ton/ha/year (pers.
communication).
The former MRP decided to use a massive drainage system covering throughout
the project area to reduce the GWL for modifying the land, which was considered the
correct strategy and suitable for agriculture or other land uses. Therefore, drainage
canals were built stretching along with the project area and connecting the Kahayan,
Barito, and Kapuas rivers (see Chap. 2).
Another issue in managing peatland ecosystem was peat fire. In September and
October 2015, extensive forest and peatland fires burned over large parts of maritime
Southeast Asia, most notably Indonesia, releasing large amounts of terrestrially
stored carbon into the atmosphere, primarily in the form of CO 2 , CO, and CH 4 .
With a mean emission rate of 11.3 M ton CO 2 per day during September and October
2015, emissions from these peat fires exceeded the fossil fuel CO 2 release rate of
8.9 M ton CO 2 per day in the European Union (Huijnen et al. 2016).
Analysis of the spatiotemporal distribution of vegetation fires in Peninsular
Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo in the severe El Niño 2015, revealed that the fire
density in peatlands was 8.5 times higher compared with mineral soils (361 hotspots/
100,000 ha vs. 43 hotspots/100,000 ha). Five Indonesian provinces (Riau, Jambi,
South Sumatra, and West and Central Kalimantan) contained 91% of all hotspots
detected in peatland areas in 2015 (Miettinen et al. 2017).
Although seasonal fires are a frequent occurrence in the human modified landscapes found in Indonesia, the extensive fires in various locations in 2015 have been
strongly influenced by the prolonged and strong dry season in relation to El Niño
(Huijnen et al. 2016). Unfortunately, to date the small farmers in Indonesia are
legally allowed to burn up to two hectares for their own use. Peat fires are very often
difficult to extinguish because the fire goes into the ground and can be out of control
for a week or more. Moreover, the underground fires continue to spread, releasing
toxic substances and enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and
methane. Massive peat fires may not be extinguished until the arrival of heavy rains.
Anderson (1961) mentioned that “The deep peats have no agricultural value at
present.” Concurrently, he predicted that the silvicultural problem in peatlands
3 Large-Scale Practice on Tropical Peatland Eco-Management
95
growth, in poor nutrient soils.
To increase food production, in 1995, the president issued a decree concerning
the development of peatlands for agriculture (Presidential Decree 1995), generally
known as the Mega Rice Project (MRP) in Central Kalimantan. In the project, a total
of approximately one million hectares of primary peatland forests were converted to
rice fields and other agricultural lands. According to the statistical office in Central
Kalimantan province (BPS Kalteng 2007), rice production in the wet land
(or organic soil in degraded peatland) area averaged 2.7–2.8 ton/ha and was estimated to be below the Indonesian average of 4.6 ton/ha. However, some reports
indicate that rice production was barely self-consumed as a food source, and the
economic returns from rice production were generally lower. In fact, common rice
production appears to have been 0.8 ton/ha once a year (Boehm and Siegert 1999).
Similarly, in West Kalimantan province, rice production on peatlands under the
migration policy that began in the 1980s has been only 0.4 ton/ha/year (pers.
communication).
The former MRP decided to use a massive drainage system covering throughout
the project area to reduce the GWL for modifying the land, which was considered the
correct strategy and suitable for agriculture or other land uses. Therefore, drainage
canals were built stretching along with the project area and connecting the Kahayan,
Barito, and Kapuas rivers (see Chap. 2).
Another issue in managing peatland ecosystem was peat fire. In September and
October 2015, extensive forest and peatland fires burned over large parts of maritime
Southeast Asia, most notably Indonesia, releasing large amounts of terrestrially
stored carbon into the atmosphere, primarily in the form of CO 2 , CO, and CH 4 .
With a mean emission rate of 11.3 M ton CO 2 per day during September and October
2015, emissions from these peat fires exceeded the fossil fuel CO 2 release rate of
8.9 M ton CO 2 per day in the European Union (Huijnen et al. 2016).
Analysis of the spatiotemporal distribution of vegetation fires in Peninsular
Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo in the severe El Niño 2015, revealed that the fire
density in peatlands was 8.5 times higher compared with mineral soils (361 hotspots/
100,000 ha vs. 43 hotspots/100,000 ha). Five Indonesian provinces (Riau, Jambi,
South Sumatra, and West and Central Kalimantan) contained 91% of all hotspots
detected in peatland areas in 2015 (Miettinen et al. 2017).
Although seasonal fires are a frequent occurrence in the human modified landscapes found in Indonesia, the extensive fires in various locations in 2015 have been
strongly influenced by the prolonged and strong dry season in relation to El Niño
(Huijnen et al. 2016). Unfortunately, to date the small farmers in Indonesia are
legally allowed to burn up to two hectares for their own use. Peat fires are very often
difficult to extinguish because the fire goes into the ground and can be out of control
for a week or more. Moreover, the underground fires continue to spread, releasing
toxic substances and enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and
methane. Massive peat fires may not be extinguished until the arrival of heavy rains.
Anderson (1961) mentioned that “The deep peats have no agricultural value at
present.” Concurrently, he predicted that the silvicultural problem in peatlands
3 Large-Scale Practice on Tropical Peatland Eco-Management
95