(ha) which is approximately 30% of the country’s earth surface.
1 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 with the
remaining areas converted for other uses while some are still designated as the state
forest land. Peat swamp forest is the second largest type of forest after the dryland
forest.
Peatland is one of the most complex and productive ecosystems on earth.
Peatlands are important not only for the production of timber and agriculture, but
also for its hydrological functions in the ecosystem. These include their roles in flood
mitigation, maintenance of river base flows, providing habitats for the many
peatlands restricted flora and fauna as well as serving as a vital carbon sink.
Malaysia’s peatland landscape has been the subject of local and global conservation
interests as they harbour enormous biological diversity while providing important
benefits and services to the national interest and support the livelihood of the local
communities.
Peatlands are also recognized as an Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA)
under the Section 6B of the Town and Country Planning 1976 (Act 172) in the
National Physical Plan 3 (NPP 3). The uses and values of peatlands in Malaysia can
be categorized into those pertaining to socio-economics (e.g. forest resources,
agriculture, infrastructure, community livelihood, etc.) and those pertaining to protective or conservation purposes (e.g. biodiversity conservation, forest, flood mitigation, water supply, carbon store, and climate regulation
2 ).
With the increasing attention towards peatland degradation in Malaysia, there has
been a growing level of activities at the national, state, and local level. At the national
level, a range of actions are initiated including the establishment of national mechanisms for monitoring and controlling peat fires. There are also some measures taken
to promote the sustainable use of peatlands at the local level. The focus, to date, has
been primarily on addressing the symptoms of the problem—such as controlling
peatland fires, addressing land subsidence and flood control following peatland
degradation with a strong involvement of local communities through the
Community-Based Peatland Rehabilitation Programme.
Realizing the importance of proper management of peatlands, the federal and
state government in collaboration with various stakeholders are implementing a
project on sustainable management of peatlands in Malaysia to address peatland
degradation particularly peatland fires and the associated haze, as the impacts can be
detrimental to the environment, health, and socio-economics in the country. To
address this issue, the project focuses on Community-Based Peatland Rehabilitation
Programme, through the sustainable use and rehabilitation of degraded peatlands,
1 Standard Operating Procedure to Implement Peatland Fire Prevention Programme to
Mitigate Haze.
2 Through the regulation of greenhouse gasses (CO2, N2O, CH4) release and uptake as well as
carbon storage.
24 Sustainable Peatland Management Focusing on Community-Based Peatland. . .
653
1 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 with the
remaining areas converted for other uses while some are still designated as the state
forest land. Peat swamp forest is the second largest type of forest after the dryland
forest.
Peatland is one of the most complex and productive ecosystems on earth.
Peatlands are important not only for the production of timber and agriculture, but
also for its hydrological functions in the ecosystem. These include their roles in flood
mitigation, maintenance of river base flows, providing habitats for the many
peatlands restricted flora and fauna as well as serving as a vital carbon sink.
Malaysia’s peatland landscape has been the subject of local and global conservation
interests as they harbour enormous biological diversity while providing important
benefits and services to the national interest and support the livelihood of the local
communities.
Peatlands are also recognized as an Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA)
under the Section 6B of the Town and Country Planning 1976 (Act 172) in the
National Physical Plan 3 (NPP 3). The uses and values of peatlands in Malaysia can
be categorized into those pertaining to socio-economics (e.g. forest resources,
agriculture, infrastructure, community livelihood, etc.) and those pertaining to protective or conservation purposes (e.g. biodiversity conservation, forest, flood mitigation, water supply, carbon store, and climate regulation
2 ).
With the increasing attention towards peatland degradation in Malaysia, there has
been a growing level of activities at the national, state, and local level. At the national
level, a range of actions are initiated including the establishment of national mechanisms for monitoring and controlling peat fires. There are also some measures taken
to promote the sustainable use of peatlands at the local level. The focus, to date, has
been primarily on addressing the symptoms of the problem—such as controlling
peatland fires, addressing land subsidence and flood control following peatland
degradation with a strong involvement of local communities through the
Community-Based Peatland Rehabilitation Programme.
Realizing the importance of proper management of peatlands, the federal and
state government in collaboration with various stakeholders are implementing a
project on sustainable management of peatlands in Malaysia to address peatland
degradation particularly peatland fires and the associated haze, as the impacts can be
detrimental to the environment, health, and socio-economics in the country. To
address this issue, the project focuses on Community-Based Peatland Rehabilitation
Programme, through the sustainable use and rehabilitation of degraded peatlands,
1 Standard Operating Procedure to Implement Peatland Fire Prevention Programme to
Mitigate Haze.
2 Through the regulation of greenhouse gasses (CO2, N2O, CH4) release and uptake as well as
carbon storage.
24 Sustainable Peatland Management Focusing on Community-Based Peatland. . .
653