Chapter 24
Sustainable Peatland Management
Focusing on Community-Based Peatland
Rehabilitation in Malaysia
Nagarajan Rengasamy and Faizal Parish
Abstract In Malaysia, peatland is the most widespread type of wetland found in ten
states which are Johor, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Putrajaya, Sabah,
Sarawak, Selangor, and Terengganu. It covers about 2.6 million hectares (ha) which
is approximately 30% of the country’s earth surface (Standard Operating Procedure
to Implement Peatland Fire Prevention Programme to Mitigate Haze). The largest
peatland area is in Sarawak, which is more than 1.6 million ha. Approximately, 30%
of the total peatland area in Malaysia is found in the forest reserves (Forested areas
that are gazetted as Permanent Reserved Forest are being managed sustainably for
environment and socio-economic purposes), with the remaining areas converted for
other uses while some are still designated as the state forest land. Peatland management is crucial not only to ensure sustainable use of the resources and protection of
endangered species, but also to maintain environmental stability and services. Local
community involvement is often critical to the effective conservation, rehabilitation,
and sustainable use of peatlands. Degradation of peatlands can lead to the loss of
important livelihood options and negatively impact community welfare. The
peatland conservation and rehabilitation efforts require local communities’ involvement, particularly those who live adjacent to the area. Among the established
peatland rehabilitation activities involving local communities are the establishment
of community nurseries, tree planting, rewetting (water management), fire monitoring and patrolling programme, alternative livelihood options, and more. The implementation of these activities promoted a “sense of belonging” among the
communities and ensured the sustainability of conservation efforts in the long run.
The Global Environment Centre has established such programme called Friends of
Peat Swamp Forest designed to conserve and protect the degraded peatland areas. It
was introduced to the communities who are aware of the degradation issues of
peatland in Selangor and Pahang states to support the protection and utilization of
peatlands in a sustainable manner and enhance the awareness among society and
N. Rengasamy (*) · F. Parish
Global Environment Centre, Wisma Hing, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
e-mail: nagarajan@gec.org.my; fparish@gec.org.my
© 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_24
651
Sustainable Peatland Management
Focusing on Community-Based Peatland
Rehabilitation in Malaysia
Nagarajan Rengasamy and Faizal Parish
Abstract In Malaysia, peatland is the most widespread type of wetland found in ten
states which are Johor, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Putrajaya, Sabah,
Sarawak, Selangor, and Terengganu. It covers about 2.6 million hectares (ha) which
is approximately 30% of the country’s earth surface (Standard Operating Procedure
to Implement Peatland Fire Prevention Programme to Mitigate Haze). The largest
peatland area is in Sarawak, which is more than 1.6 million ha. Approximately, 30%
of the total peatland area in Malaysia is found in the forest reserves (Forested areas
that are gazetted as Permanent Reserved Forest are being managed sustainably for
environment and socio-economic purposes), with the remaining areas converted for
other uses while some are still designated as the state forest land. Peatland management is crucial not only to ensure sustainable use of the resources and protection of
endangered species, but also to maintain environmental stability and services. Local
community involvement is often critical to the effective conservation, rehabilitation,
and sustainable use of peatlands. Degradation of peatlands can lead to the loss of
important livelihood options and negatively impact community welfare. The
peatland conservation and rehabilitation efforts require local communities’ involvement, particularly those who live adjacent to the area. Among the established
peatland rehabilitation activities involving local communities are the establishment
of community nurseries, tree planting, rewetting (water management), fire monitoring and patrolling programme, alternative livelihood options, and more. The implementation of these activities promoted a “sense of belonging” among the
communities and ensured the sustainability of conservation efforts in the long run.
The Global Environment Centre has established such programme called Friends of
Peat Swamp Forest designed to conserve and protect the degraded peatland areas. It
was introduced to the communities who are aware of the degradation issues of
peatland in Selangor and Pahang states to support the protection and utilization of
peatlands in a sustainable manner and enhance the awareness among society and
N. Rengasamy (*) · F. Parish
Global Environment Centre, Wisma Hing, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
e-mail: nagarajan@gec.org.my; fparish@gec.org.my
© 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_24
651