Chapter 13
Management Practice and Restoration
of the Peat Swamp Forest
in Katingan-Mentaya, Indonesia
Taryono Darusman, Dwi Puji Lestari, and Desra Arriyadi
Abstract Katingan Peat Conservation and Restoration Project, or in short, the
Katingan-Mentaya Project (KMP) is a working concept of tropical peatland restoration on a large landscape scale run by a private sector in production forests, Central
Kalimantan, Indonesia. KMP is flanked by the Mentaya River and Katingan River
watersheds where more than 43,000 people live in 34 villages along the river banks.
The peat swamp forest had been logged for almost 40 years, leaving the degraded
peat swamp forest (PSF) and deforested areas. Furthermore, the logging activities
have changed the floral composition, vegetation structure, and tree species regeneration of the peat swamp forest. The footprint of logging activity is indicated by the
ditch networks in the area. Instead of transporting timber, the ditches drain the
peatland water, particularly in the dry season. The drainage has changed the hydrological regime within the KMP area, especially in the deforested areas. These areas,
which typically are covered by ferns and grasses, are very prone to fire during the dry
season due to the water table depth that becomes relatively low. Given those
situations, KMP has implemented the landscape-scale active restoration program
since 2013 not only to repair the degraded PSF but also to give benefit to the local
stakeholders. The restoration management intervention as part of the nature-based
solution is scheduled for completion in 60 years (2013–2073), following the ecosystem restoration concession granted by the Government of Indonesia, including
the gradual revegetation in deforested areas, assisted natural regeneration, natural
regeneration, rewetting, community-based fire prevention, forest protection,
peatland agroecological farmer school, and collaborative management at specific
areas inside and outside the concession area. During the restoration program implementation, we have learned that the social component (local stakeholders) and landuse change outside the KMP area shape the restoration activities time by time,
driving the KMP management to be adaptive and innovative.
T. Darusman (*) · D. P. Lestari · D. Arriyadi
PT Rimba Makmur Utama, Sampit, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
e-mail: taryono@ptrmu.com
© 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_13
381
Management Practice and Restoration
of the Peat Swamp Forest
in Katingan-Mentaya, Indonesia
Taryono Darusman, Dwi Puji Lestari, and Desra Arriyadi
Abstract Katingan Peat Conservation and Restoration Project, or in short, the
Katingan-Mentaya Project (KMP) is a working concept of tropical peatland restoration on a large landscape scale run by a private sector in production forests, Central
Kalimantan, Indonesia. KMP is flanked by the Mentaya River and Katingan River
watersheds where more than 43,000 people live in 34 villages along the river banks.
The peat swamp forest had been logged for almost 40 years, leaving the degraded
peat swamp forest (PSF) and deforested areas. Furthermore, the logging activities
have changed the floral composition, vegetation structure, and tree species regeneration of the peat swamp forest. The footprint of logging activity is indicated by the
ditch networks in the area. Instead of transporting timber, the ditches drain the
peatland water, particularly in the dry season. The drainage has changed the hydrological regime within the KMP area, especially in the deforested areas. These areas,
which typically are covered by ferns and grasses, are very prone to fire during the dry
season due to the water table depth that becomes relatively low. Given those
situations, KMP has implemented the landscape-scale active restoration program
since 2013 not only to repair the degraded PSF but also to give benefit to the local
stakeholders. The restoration management intervention as part of the nature-based
solution is scheduled for completion in 60 years (2013–2073), following the ecosystem restoration concession granted by the Government of Indonesia, including
the gradual revegetation in deforested areas, assisted natural regeneration, natural
regeneration, rewetting, community-based fire prevention, forest protection,
peatland agroecological farmer school, and collaborative management at specific
areas inside and outside the concession area. During the restoration program implementation, we have learned that the social component (local stakeholders) and landuse change outside the KMP area shape the restoration activities time by time,
driving the KMP management to be adaptive and innovative.
T. Darusman (*) · D. P. Lestari · D. Arriyadi
PT Rimba Makmur Utama, Sampit, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
e-mail: taryono@ptrmu.com
© 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_13
381