28.1 Introduction
Tropical peatland in Indonesia is an important ecosystem that provides considerable
benefits to the world. As the largest near-surface reserves of terrestrial organic
carbon, peatland’s stability has important implications for climate change. In natural
state, peat swamp forest deposits up to 20 m thick organic matter, storing carbon
from the accumulation of decomposed organic material since Holocene era, recent
organic litter of vegetation, and sequestration of plant growth; hence it plays a role in
climate regulation and climate change mitigation (Abrams et al. 2016). The naturally
high organic material of peatlands causes high water holding capacity to store a large
amount of fresh water, mostly from rainfall, to regulate water from the rainy and dry
seasons.
Peat swamp forest has unique and essential biodiversity, that can support sustainable livelihood through several non-timber forest product, and regulate ecosystem function (Rittenhouse and Rissman 2012; Yule 2010), like bee pollination and
seed dispersal.
28.1.1 Local Practices of Utilizing Peatlands
Peatlands have been occupied since the empire era or earlier; thus, the impacts of
people’s activities on peatlands cannot be belittled. The level of such activities’
impact depends on the bearing capacity of peatlands. Before the implementation of
extensive agricultural development, local people had utilized peatlands at the level
that still enabled the peatlands to self-recover (read: they did not exceed the bearing
capacity of peatlands). During the empire era in Jambi Province, it has been
indicated that in some peatland areas like Sungai Buluh area of East Tanjung Jabung
District (now called as Sungai Buluh Protection Forest), peat swamp forest vegetation was sometimes harvested for cattle feed. After the abandonment of the areas,
recovery took place, and the floristic composition was achieved in at least 60 years
(Hapsari et al. 2018). Meanwhile, researches indicated that peatlands were resilient
to fires and extreme weather until anthropogenic activities accelerated (Anshari et al.
2004).
Recently, people in West Tanjung Jabung, near the coastal areas of the South
China Sea in Jambi Province, have utilized peatlands for coconut and coffee
plantation. Although subsidence was observed in their plantations, fire has not
been an issue. In Muaro Jambi, tapping jelutung latex and fishing in Kumpeh
River were the practices made possible by the ecosystem. In Meranti Island and
Siak District, sago is the local commodity in peatland areas. Sago from Meranti
Island has been a vital commodity for the community’s economic development
(Widiarsih 2019), utilized for the production of various foods (Patiware et al.
2015). Meanwhile, in Papua, sago is widely distributed and consumed as staple
752
H. Gunawan et al.
Tropical peatland in Indonesia is an important ecosystem that provides considerable
benefits to the world. As the largest near-surface reserves of terrestrial organic
carbon, peatland’s stability has important implications for climate change. In natural
state, peat swamp forest deposits up to 20 m thick organic matter, storing carbon
from the accumulation of decomposed organic material since Holocene era, recent
organic litter of vegetation, and sequestration of plant growth; hence it plays a role in
climate regulation and climate change mitigation (Abrams et al. 2016). The naturally
high organic material of peatlands causes high water holding capacity to store a large
amount of fresh water, mostly from rainfall, to regulate water from the rainy and dry
seasons.
Peat swamp forest has unique and essential biodiversity, that can support sustainable livelihood through several non-timber forest product, and regulate ecosystem function (Rittenhouse and Rissman 2012; Yule 2010), like bee pollination and
seed dispersal.
28.1.1 Local Practices of Utilizing Peatlands
Peatlands have been occupied since the empire era or earlier; thus, the impacts of
people’s activities on peatlands cannot be belittled. The level of such activities’
impact depends on the bearing capacity of peatlands. Before the implementation of
extensive agricultural development, local people had utilized peatlands at the level
that still enabled the peatlands to self-recover (read: they did not exceed the bearing
capacity of peatlands). During the empire era in Jambi Province, it has been
indicated that in some peatland areas like Sungai Buluh area of East Tanjung Jabung
District (now called as Sungai Buluh Protection Forest), peat swamp forest vegetation was sometimes harvested for cattle feed. After the abandonment of the areas,
recovery took place, and the floristic composition was achieved in at least 60 years
(Hapsari et al. 2018). Meanwhile, researches indicated that peatlands were resilient
to fires and extreme weather until anthropogenic activities accelerated (Anshari et al.
2004).
Recently, people in West Tanjung Jabung, near the coastal areas of the South
China Sea in Jambi Province, have utilized peatlands for coconut and coffee
plantation. Although subsidence was observed in their plantations, fire has not
been an issue. In Muaro Jambi, tapping jelutung latex and fishing in Kumpeh
River were the practices made possible by the ecosystem. In Meranti Island and
Siak District, sago is the local commodity in peatland areas. Sago from Meranti
Island has been a vital commodity for the community’s economic development
(Widiarsih 2019), utilized for the production of various foods (Patiware et al.
2015). Meanwhile, in Papua, sago is widely distributed and consumed as staple
752
H. Gunawan et al.