The GWL of a plantation has a significant relationship to the number and location
of dams, and the more dams there are, the more costly it becomes for the company
and the less workable it is in the field. The number of peat dams in each is 51 units
for WSL and 49 units for MTI. Fires in the plantation were prevented in 2015 and
2019; however, there was much trial and error initially regarding the location of the
peat dam. WSL-MTI has been actively collecting GWL and precipitation data for
10 years to ensure the homogeneity of the GWLs in the peat dome. Currently, the
WSL and MTI have 393 and 476 data points for GWLs, respectively. These data and
micro-climate observations will be used to make future recommendations for appropriate and low-cost peat dam placement, as one of the important factors of
Eco-management.
Owners of large-scale agricultural and forestry businesses will need to revise their
business plans to take into account the long-term perspective, business sustainability, SDGs, and ESG investments, although there will be a temporary cost.
Acknowledgments First, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to our seniors and
colleagues of Sumitomo Forestry, co., Ltd., as well as the experienced Mr. Suhadi and others
from the Alas Kusuma Group, for their enthusiastic support towards the success of the business. We
believe that the success of this project is the result of the collective efforts of two leading forestry
companies in Japan and Indonesia.
We should like to extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. Michael Allen Brady, Professor Chairil
Anwar Siregar, Professor Gusti Z Anshari, Dr. Agus Justianto, and Emeritus Professor Hisao
Furukawa for constructive suggestions to develop a new concept of tropical peatland management.
We would also like to thank Dr. Hadi S. Pasaribu, Ir. Nana Suparna, and Ir. Popi Komalasari MM
for valuable information on the history of Indonesian forestry and political changes. We deeply
respect their expertise in forestry.
Several research activities have been jointly conducted with the Ministry of Environment and
Forestry, Indonesia, as a pilot project to develop the responsible peatland management in Indonesia,
supported in part by The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH).
Finally, we would like to acknowledge the entire staff of WSL-MTI for developing a model
through years of trial and error in the field. Without their continuous effort, we may have not yet
reached the concept and strategy for peatland management.
References
Anderson J (1961) The Ecology and Forest Types of the Peat Swamp Forests of Sarawak and
Brunei in Relation to Their Silviculture. Unpublished PhD dissertation, vol. I (191 pp) and vol.
II (appendices), University of Edinburgh
Anderson J (1963) The flora of the peat swamp forests of Sarawak and Brunei, including a
catalogue of all recorded species of flowering plants, ferns, and fern allies. Garden’s Bull Singap
29:131–228
Anshari G, Kershaw AP, van der Kaars S, Jacobsen G (2004) Environmental change and peatland
forest dynamics in the Lake Sentarum area, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. J Quaternary Sci 19
(7):637–655
Anshari G, Afifudin M, Nuriman M et al (2010) Drainage and land use impacts on changes in
selected peat properties and peat degradation in West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia.
Biogeosciences 7:3403–3419
132
T. Kato et al.
of dams, and the more dams there are, the more costly it becomes for the company
and the less workable it is in the field. The number of peat dams in each is 51 units
for WSL and 49 units for MTI. Fires in the plantation were prevented in 2015 and
2019; however, there was much trial and error initially regarding the location of the
peat dam. WSL-MTI has been actively collecting GWL and precipitation data for
10 years to ensure the homogeneity of the GWLs in the peat dome. Currently, the
WSL and MTI have 393 and 476 data points for GWLs, respectively. These data and
micro-climate observations will be used to make future recommendations for appropriate and low-cost peat dam placement, as one of the important factors of
Eco-management.
Owners of large-scale agricultural and forestry businesses will need to revise their
business plans to take into account the long-term perspective, business sustainability, SDGs, and ESG investments, although there will be a temporary cost.
Acknowledgments First, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to our seniors and
colleagues of Sumitomo Forestry, co., Ltd., as well as the experienced Mr. Suhadi and others
from the Alas Kusuma Group, for their enthusiastic support towards the success of the business. We
believe that the success of this project is the result of the collective efforts of two leading forestry
companies in Japan and Indonesia.
We should like to extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. Michael Allen Brady, Professor Chairil
Anwar Siregar, Professor Gusti Z Anshari, Dr. Agus Justianto, and Emeritus Professor Hisao
Furukawa for constructive suggestions to develop a new concept of tropical peatland management.
We would also like to thank Dr. Hadi S. Pasaribu, Ir. Nana Suparna, and Ir. Popi Komalasari MM
for valuable information on the history of Indonesian forestry and political changes. We deeply
respect their expertise in forestry.
Several research activities have been jointly conducted with the Ministry of Environment and
Forestry, Indonesia, as a pilot project to develop the responsible peatland management in Indonesia,
supported in part by The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH).
Finally, we would like to acknowledge the entire staff of WSL-MTI for developing a model
through years of trial and error in the field. Without their continuous effort, we may have not yet
reached the concept and strategy for peatland management.
References
Anderson J (1961) The Ecology and Forest Types of the Peat Swamp Forests of Sarawak and
Brunei in Relation to Their Silviculture. Unpublished PhD dissertation, vol. I (191 pp) and vol.
II (appendices), University of Edinburgh
Anderson J (1963) The flora of the peat swamp forests of Sarawak and Brunei, including a
catalogue of all recorded species of flowering plants, ferns, and fern allies. Garden’s Bull Singap
29:131–228
Anshari G, Kershaw AP, van der Kaars S, Jacobsen G (2004) Environmental change and peatland
forest dynamics in the Lake Sentarum area, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. J Quaternary Sci 19
(7):637–655
Anshari G, Afifudin M, Nuriman M et al (2010) Drainage and land use impacts on changes in
selected peat properties and peat degradation in West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia.
Biogeosciences 7:3403–3419
132
T. Kato et al.