care group) was formed as a successor to Kelompok Masyarakat Lestari Hutan
Gambut (KMLHG, community groups for sustainable peat forest) through a unanimous election of the group leader and board members. In addition to the MPB and
MPG, villagers organized the Tim Air (TA, water management team) and Tim
Monitoring Tanaman (TMT, forest monitoring team), hired the next generation of
young people in the village, and trained experts in water management, planting, and
animal damage control in peatlands.
MPB is a 10-person organization that patrols and gathers information to prevent
disasters, such as fires and floods. MPG is an organization of 25 members, responsible for land-clearing, planting, and maintaining peatlands. The two members of the
TA regularly measure the flow rates of natural rivers and major drainage channels
and the height of groundwater levels. Two members of the TMT record the growth
of planted trees. The 38 households of the Tim Sayur (TS, vegetable growing group)
are working toward self-sufficiency through vegetable farming within the village.
25.3.2.2 Water Management by Zoning by Elevation and Canal
Blocking
Canal blocking by weir construction is a well-known method for water management
in the peatland. When water crisis occurs, residents insist on the necessity of the weir
construction to local governments or NGOs that conduct peatland restoration projects and entrust the weir construction to them. As a result, the water depth rises only
in the area where the weir was constructed, and consequently, floods and groundwater lowering of GWL occur in the neighboring land. Moreover, being expensive,
the constructed weir was difficult to repair once it was broken. Therefore, JPP
suggested the concept of water management in peatlands and promoted voluntary
water management by villagers. The target area for water management in JPP is
around 2420 ha. The basic concept is zoning by elevation and canal blocking. The
area is divided into five zones (zone A–zone E) with a 1 m difference between the
elevation of each zone ranging from 2 to 6 m. The area of each zone is as follows:
1. Zone A (6–7 m) ¼ 429.05 ha
2. Zone B (5–6 m) ¼ 659.33 ha
3. Zone C (4–5 m) ¼ 565.59 ha
4. Zone D (3–4 m) ¼ 409.40 ha
5. Zone E (2–3 m) ¼ 356.49 ha
JPP constructed 12 weirs for canal blocking on the borders of each area. Figure 25.6 shows the rewetting map in Tanjung Leban, where the 12 canal blocking
points are marked by black dots. Figure 25.7 shows canal blocking sites of No. 7 and
No. 8 shown in Fig. 25.6. One weir can keep GWL 1 m higher than that of without a
weir. Because of the use of inexpensive sandbags and local wood, the cost of weir
construction is less than approximately 300 USD.
The villagers’ land is located in the lower reaches of the 9386-ha watershed, and
the upper reaches are managed by industrial afforestation companies. One natural
river and five canals flow into the village from the company site, and TA regularly
25 Case Study on Community-Based Water Management in Tropical Peatland
669
Gambut (KMLHG, community groups for sustainable peat forest) through a unanimous election of the group leader and board members. In addition to the MPB and
MPG, villagers organized the Tim Air (TA, water management team) and Tim
Monitoring Tanaman (TMT, forest monitoring team), hired the next generation of
young people in the village, and trained experts in water management, planting, and
animal damage control in peatlands.
MPB is a 10-person organization that patrols and gathers information to prevent
disasters, such as fires and floods. MPG is an organization of 25 members, responsible for land-clearing, planting, and maintaining peatlands. The two members of the
TA regularly measure the flow rates of natural rivers and major drainage channels
and the height of groundwater levels. Two members of the TMT record the growth
of planted trees. The 38 households of the Tim Sayur (TS, vegetable growing group)
are working toward self-sufficiency through vegetable farming within the village.
25.3.2.2 Water Management by Zoning by Elevation and Canal
Blocking
Canal blocking by weir construction is a well-known method for water management
in the peatland. When water crisis occurs, residents insist on the necessity of the weir
construction to local governments or NGOs that conduct peatland restoration projects and entrust the weir construction to them. As a result, the water depth rises only
in the area where the weir was constructed, and consequently, floods and groundwater lowering of GWL occur in the neighboring land. Moreover, being expensive,
the constructed weir was difficult to repair once it was broken. Therefore, JPP
suggested the concept of water management in peatlands and promoted voluntary
water management by villagers. The target area for water management in JPP is
around 2420 ha. The basic concept is zoning by elevation and canal blocking. The
area is divided into five zones (zone A–zone E) with a 1 m difference between the
elevation of each zone ranging from 2 to 6 m. The area of each zone is as follows:
1. Zone A (6–7 m) ¼ 429.05 ha
2. Zone B (5–6 m) ¼ 659.33 ha
3. Zone C (4–5 m) ¼ 565.59 ha
4. Zone D (3–4 m) ¼ 409.40 ha
5. Zone E (2–3 m) ¼ 356.49 ha
JPP constructed 12 weirs for canal blocking on the borders of each area. Figure 25.6 shows the rewetting map in Tanjung Leban, where the 12 canal blocking
points are marked by black dots. Figure 25.7 shows canal blocking sites of No. 7 and
No. 8 shown in Fig. 25.6. One weir can keep GWL 1 m higher than that of without a
weir. Because of the use of inexpensive sandbags and local wood, the cost of weir
construction is less than approximately 300 USD.
The villagers’ land is located in the lower reaches of the 9386-ha watershed, and
the upper reaches are managed by industrial afforestation companies. One natural
river and five canals flow into the village from the company site, and TA regularly
25 Case Study on Community-Based Water Management in Tropical Peatland
669