Most importantly, it requires an economic and environmental model that is not
dependent on intact peat swamp forests and does not involve fire. For this purpose, it
is essential to promote coexistence between humans and nature and simultaneously
add value to economic activities. Therefore, this chapter suggests that the value chain
should incorporate environmental evaluation, rather than just considering the economic aspect of the value chain.
Keywords Green corridors · Landscape · Conservation network · Stock-based
water management · Drainage-based water management
4.1 Introduction
As the distribution of peatlands around the world has become clearer, it has been
revealed peatlands in the tropics store enormous amounts of carbon. There have been
many scientific papers on carbon emissions from tropical peatlands, which are
considered to be closely linked to global climate change (e.g., Basuki et al. 2018;
Page et al. 2011; Hooijer et al. 2006; Jauhiainen et al. 2005). Despite the remarkable
interest in carbon storage in tropical peatlands, little attention has been paid to
tropical peat ecosystems. Although research has been done on rare animals that
live in tropical peatlands, such as the endangered orangutans (Johnson et al. 2005)
and proboscis monkeys, little is known about other animals and plants. Tropical
peatlands have been exposed to numerous threats due to overexploitation, land use
conversion, and fires, yet little is known about their biodiversity (e.g., Anderson
1963; Posa et al. 2011; Yule 2010; Turetsky et al. 2015; Harrison and Rieley 2018;
Osaki and Tsuji 2016). Regarding fishes, for example, a total of 200 to 300 species
have been recorded from the peat swamps of Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, and
Sumatra (Dennis and Aldhous 2004). Rapid destruction of peat swamp forests due to
development for agriculture and forestry has had a significant impact on fish fauna
(Ng et al. 1994). Due to the increased recent drains and use of chemical fertilizers
and pesticides in large quantities, further research may reveal impacts on fish fauna
as well.
Of all the threats to biodiversity, the most terrifying are deforestation, forest
degradation, and peat fires. Once deforestation, forest degradation, and/or peat fire
occurs, biodiversity is completely lost. There have been reports of changes in forest
structure and species composition due to forest fires (Cochrane and Schulze 1999;
Slik et al. 2002). The frequency of fires has also increased as a result of land use
changes and population growth (Field et al. 2009). In fact, fires with severe impacts
were and may still be caused by plantations, logging concessions, and land-clearing
projects (Hoffmann et al. 1999; Carlson et al. 2012). In recent years, however, there
have been reports of fires caused primarily by small- and medium-scale farmers
outside of large concessions (Cattau et al. 2016). To prevent fires, coexistence
between humans and nature is very important.
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T. Kato et al.
dependent on intact peat swamp forests and does not involve fire. For this purpose, it
is essential to promote coexistence between humans and nature and simultaneously
add value to economic activities. Therefore, this chapter suggests that the value chain
should incorporate environmental evaluation, rather than just considering the economic aspect of the value chain.
Keywords Green corridors · Landscape · Conservation network · Stock-based
water management · Drainage-based water management
4.1 Introduction
As the distribution of peatlands around the world has become clearer, it has been
revealed peatlands in the tropics store enormous amounts of carbon. There have been
many scientific papers on carbon emissions from tropical peatlands, which are
considered to be closely linked to global climate change (e.g., Basuki et al. 2018;
Page et al. 2011; Hooijer et al. 2006; Jauhiainen et al. 2005). Despite the remarkable
interest in carbon storage in tropical peatlands, little attention has been paid to
tropical peat ecosystems. Although research has been done on rare animals that
live in tropical peatlands, such as the endangered orangutans (Johnson et al. 2005)
and proboscis monkeys, little is known about other animals and plants. Tropical
peatlands have been exposed to numerous threats due to overexploitation, land use
conversion, and fires, yet little is known about their biodiversity (e.g., Anderson
1963; Posa et al. 2011; Yule 2010; Turetsky et al. 2015; Harrison and Rieley 2018;
Osaki and Tsuji 2016). Regarding fishes, for example, a total of 200 to 300 species
have been recorded from the peat swamps of Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, and
Sumatra (Dennis and Aldhous 2004). Rapid destruction of peat swamp forests due to
development for agriculture and forestry has had a significant impact on fish fauna
(Ng et al. 1994). Due to the increased recent drains and use of chemical fertilizers
and pesticides in large quantities, further research may reveal impacts on fish fauna
as well.
Of all the threats to biodiversity, the most terrifying are deforestation, forest
degradation, and peat fires. Once deforestation, forest degradation, and/or peat fire
occurs, biodiversity is completely lost. There have been reports of changes in forest
structure and species composition due to forest fires (Cochrane and Schulze 1999;
Slik et al. 2002). The frequency of fires has also increased as a result of land use
changes and population growth (Field et al. 2009). In fact, fires with severe impacts
were and may still be caused by plantations, logging concessions, and land-clearing
projects (Hoffmann et al. 1999; Carlson et al. 2012). In recent years, however, there
have been reports of fires caused primarily by small- and medium-scale farmers
outside of large concessions (Cattau et al. 2016). To prevent fires, coexistence
between humans and nature is very important.
136
T. Kato et al.