structures) is unclear, along with how polyphenol concentrations vary over time and
circumstances, preventing decomposition and assisting the building up of peat.
These aspects need to be understood, at least to some degree, before one can
confidently cultivate these as viable alternatives to generate local livelihoods. This
lack of knowledge is not a trivial issue. Middelberg et al. (2019) assessed the options
for paludiculture in Malaysia and found that although many smallholders recognize
the issues with peat subsidence and compaction, replacing oil palm with alternative
systems like paludiculture is not yet realistic. They concluded that “The most
important impediments are a lack of knowledge on potential of non-drainage
peatland species and its associated value chains, as well as the technical difficulty
for smallholders to implement such a system.”
14.7 Conclusions
More than 95% of western Indonesia’s formerly forested peatlands (13 Mha) has
been logged and drained, and half has subsequently been converted to drainagebased plantations, mainly for oil palm and Acacia crassicarpa as well as a range of
other dryland crops such as Liberica coffee, pineapple, and Hevea rubber. Drainagebased land use of peatland is unsustainable due to the continued peat degradation and
loss and enhanced emissions, ultimately rendering the peatland unproductive.
Paludiculture is defined as the cultivation of economically beneficial peat swamp
adaptive species on wet or rewetted peatland, with near natural ground water levels
(i.e., at or near the surface). There is a lot of misconception about paludiculture in
Indonesia where the term has been used to describe all forms of cultivation on
peatland, including many forms of drained-land agriculture (involving many dryland
species), but also aquaculture and rearing of buffalos. 514 useful peat swamp plant
species have been identified in Indonesia, including 81 with a major economic use.
These uses include non-timber forest products that are used as food, medicines, and a
wide range of “other uses,” along with many timber species and potential pulpproducing species.
In spite of the cornucopia of potential paludiculture species and the urgency to
move towards a more sustainable land use in peatlands, implementation of true
paludiculture has lagged. However, most species that have been planted in peatlands
consist of dryland species. In some cases where true peatland species have been
tried, combination with rewetting or involvement of species without economic
benefits has not yet been included.
Traditional sago cultivation and enrichment planting in peatland aside, only about
2000 ha of true paludiculture has been carried out in Indonesia, even though by
mid-2018, 380,000 ha of degraded wetland had been rewetted. There are numerous
challenges associated with paludiculture, including the high costs associated with
replanting, full rewetting preventing access and transport along the canals, a landscape approach being needed as rewetting cannot occur in piecemeal manner, and
sourcing peatland adaptive provenances of useful species. However, the main
reasons for lack of true paludiculture being implemented are that: (1) dryland species
14 Tropical Peatland Restoration in Indonesia by Replanting with Useful Indigenous. . .
435
circumstances, preventing decomposition and assisting the building up of peat.
These aspects need to be understood, at least to some degree, before one can
confidently cultivate these as viable alternatives to generate local livelihoods. This
lack of knowledge is not a trivial issue. Middelberg et al. (2019) assessed the options
for paludiculture in Malaysia and found that although many smallholders recognize
the issues with peat subsidence and compaction, replacing oil palm with alternative
systems like paludiculture is not yet realistic. They concluded that “The most
important impediments are a lack of knowledge on potential of non-drainage
peatland species and its associated value chains, as well as the technical difficulty
for smallholders to implement such a system.”
14.7 Conclusions
More than 95% of western Indonesia’s formerly forested peatlands (13 Mha) has
been logged and drained, and half has subsequently been converted to drainagebased plantations, mainly for oil palm and Acacia crassicarpa as well as a range of
other dryland crops such as Liberica coffee, pineapple, and Hevea rubber. Drainagebased land use of peatland is unsustainable due to the continued peat degradation and
loss and enhanced emissions, ultimately rendering the peatland unproductive.
Paludiculture is defined as the cultivation of economically beneficial peat swamp
adaptive species on wet or rewetted peatland, with near natural ground water levels
(i.e., at or near the surface). There is a lot of misconception about paludiculture in
Indonesia where the term has been used to describe all forms of cultivation on
peatland, including many forms of drained-land agriculture (involving many dryland
species), but also aquaculture and rearing of buffalos. 514 useful peat swamp plant
species have been identified in Indonesia, including 81 with a major economic use.
These uses include non-timber forest products that are used as food, medicines, and a
wide range of “other uses,” along with many timber species and potential pulpproducing species.
In spite of the cornucopia of potential paludiculture species and the urgency to
move towards a more sustainable land use in peatlands, implementation of true
paludiculture has lagged. However, most species that have been planted in peatlands
consist of dryland species. In some cases where true peatland species have been
tried, combination with rewetting or involvement of species without economic
benefits has not yet been included.
Traditional sago cultivation and enrichment planting in peatland aside, only about
2000 ha of true paludiculture has been carried out in Indonesia, even though by
mid-2018, 380,000 ha of degraded wetland had been rewetted. There are numerous
challenges associated with paludiculture, including the high costs associated with
replanting, full rewetting preventing access and transport along the canals, a landscape approach being needed as rewetting cannot occur in piecemeal manner, and
sourcing peatland adaptive provenances of useful species. However, the main
reasons for lack of true paludiculture being implemented are that: (1) dryland species
14 Tropical Peatland Restoration in Indonesia by Replanting with Useful Indigenous. . .
435