Chapter 12
Sago Palm Practice as Natural AeroHydro
Culture
Agustinus P. Tampubolon, Maman Turjaman, and Mitsuru Osaki
Abstract Severe devastation of Indonesia’s tropical peatlands leading to hydrometeorological disasters such as droughts, peat fire, haze pollution, and floods should be
restored in order to ensure sustainable development. Sago palm (Metroxylon sagu
Rottb.) paludiculture (high groundwater level and high peat moisture content) in
peatlands can restore a degraded peatland ecosystem and simultaneously assimilate a
large amount of carbon dioxide. The highest carbohydrate (starch) productivity was
recorded as 24 t/ha, compared to other tropical food commodities such as rice (4–8 t/
ha) and corn (5–10 t/ha). In addition, it has diversified products and good marketplace. Therefore, sago palm has big potential for food security at national level and
economic security in local communities. This paper describes (1) the best practices
of sago palm paludiculture at several locations, (2) the ability of sago palm canopy to
mitigate hydrological and meteorological disasters, and (3) the community-based
sago starch production.
Keywords Sago starch · Community-based · Vulnerability · Resilience · Sago
(Metroxylon sagu Rottb.)
12.1 Introduction
High biodiversity of 74 ecosystems in Indonesia (Maryanto et al. 2013) should be
maintained, including the tropical peatland ecosystem with its unique and rich
species diversity (Page 2001; Fauzi et al. 2012; Kementerian Perencanaan
Pembangunan Nasional/BAPPENAS 2016; Osaki et al. 2016; Shiodera 2016).
A. P. Tampubolon (*) · M. Turjaman
Forest Research and Development Centre, FOERDIA, Ministry of Environment and Forestry,
Bogor, Indonesia
M. Osaki
Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
e-mail: mosaki@chem.agr.hokudai.ac.jp
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Osaki et al. (eds.), Tropical Peatland Eco-management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4654-3_12
363
Sago Palm Practice as Natural AeroHydro
Culture
Agustinus P. Tampubolon, Maman Turjaman, and Mitsuru Osaki
Abstract Severe devastation of Indonesia’s tropical peatlands leading to hydrometeorological disasters such as droughts, peat fire, haze pollution, and floods should be
restored in order to ensure sustainable development. Sago palm (Metroxylon sagu
Rottb.) paludiculture (high groundwater level and high peat moisture content) in
peatlands can restore a degraded peatland ecosystem and simultaneously assimilate a
large amount of carbon dioxide. The highest carbohydrate (starch) productivity was
recorded as 24 t/ha, compared to other tropical food commodities such as rice (4–8 t/
ha) and corn (5–10 t/ha). In addition, it has diversified products and good marketplace. Therefore, sago palm has big potential for food security at national level and
economic security in local communities. This paper describes (1) the best practices
of sago palm paludiculture at several locations, (2) the ability of sago palm canopy to
mitigate hydrological and meteorological disasters, and (3) the community-based
sago starch production.
Keywords Sago starch · Community-based · Vulnerability · Resilience · Sago
(Metroxylon sagu Rottb.)
12.1 Introduction
High biodiversity of 74 ecosystems in Indonesia (Maryanto et al. 2013) should be
maintained, including the tropical peatland ecosystem with its unique and rich
species diversity (Page 2001; Fauzi et al. 2012; Kementerian Perencanaan
Pembangunan Nasional/BAPPENAS 2016; Osaki et al. 2016; Shiodera 2016).
A. P. Tampubolon (*) · M. Turjaman
Forest Research and Development Centre, FOERDIA, Ministry of Environment and Forestry,
Bogor, Indonesia
M. Osaki
Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
e-mail: mosaki@chem.agr.hokudai.ac.jp
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
M. Osaki et al. (eds.), Tropical Peatland Eco-management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4654-3_12
363