food; but sago trunk is not yet extensively used for sago starch. Sago is one of the
suitable commodities in the peatlands with high water table.
28.1.2 Changes of Local Practices to Extensive Drainage
Based Monoculture Agriculture and Impacts
Overlogged forest and drained agricultural lands have been massively occurring
since the 1960s, leaving behind the local commodities. To the best of our knowledge, fires in peatlands started becoming an issue in the 1990s (not as early as 1960s
or later) and were mostly associated with massive canal based agriculture. The local
people changed their practices from the local practices to this extensive agriculture
(converting their peatlands and even becoming labor in plantations). Extensive
monoculture agricultural production has been the paradigm for economic development, treating peatland as if it were mineral lands. The changes continued with more
and more monoculture agricultural production expanded to the drylands (mineral
lands) as the limit of plantation areas. From this point forward, peatlands have been
considered to be suitable for agricultural land; hence, people invest technology for
obtaining water table which is suitable for dry land commodities. It is not surprising
that extensive agriculture continues in peatlands. It is estimated that 3–4 Mha
peatlands have been drained extensively (Miettinen et al. 2012a, b). This considerable progress has been followed by the establishment of factories and consistent
demand and well-maintained demand for the related agricultural products.
Despite the real promising economic benefits, drainage based agriculture is not
sustainable because it changes the natural hydrological properties of peatlands
(Tacconi 2003; Comte et al. 2012). Peat degradation has been parameterized with
irreversible drying or, using the governmental regulation, peatlands with a lower
water table than À40 cm. The drained peatlands, as such, are prone to fires in dry
seasons (Wösten et al. 2008). Moreover, in the El Niño season, the water table drops
drastically, and peatlands become more susceptible to fires like in 1997/98 (Levine
1999), 2014/2015 (NASA 2016; WB-Group 2016), and in 2019 (the most recent
fires). Drainages cause subsidence, lowering the land surface. Subsidence is resulted
from the consolidation of peat materials as water in macropores is relocated from the
system; following it, peatland is decomposed as more oxygen allows faster decomposition (Ritzema 2001). In combination, there are practices to compact peatlands, as
the more compact the peatlands, more stable the lands for plant growth, preventing
plants from declining. Since then, peatlands are vulnerable to permanent flood
because subsidence decreases the elevation of peatlands and causes failure for
adequate drainage (Acreman and Holden 2013; Hooijer et al. 2015). The vulnerability of peatlands to permanent flood increases, as subsidence decreases the elevation of peatlands (Nicholls et al. 1999). Eventually, peatlands become unproductive
land and it leads to economic loss (Sumarga et al. 2016).
28 Show Windows and Lessons Learned from Peatland Restoration in Indonesia
753
suitable commodities in the peatlands with high water table.
28.1.2 Changes of Local Practices to Extensive Drainage
Based Monoculture Agriculture and Impacts
Overlogged forest and drained agricultural lands have been massively occurring
since the 1960s, leaving behind the local commodities. To the best of our knowledge, fires in peatlands started becoming an issue in the 1990s (not as early as 1960s
or later) and were mostly associated with massive canal based agriculture. The local
people changed their practices from the local practices to this extensive agriculture
(converting their peatlands and even becoming labor in plantations). Extensive
monoculture agricultural production has been the paradigm for economic development, treating peatland as if it were mineral lands. The changes continued with more
and more monoculture agricultural production expanded to the drylands (mineral
lands) as the limit of plantation areas. From this point forward, peatlands have been
considered to be suitable for agricultural land; hence, people invest technology for
obtaining water table which is suitable for dry land commodities. It is not surprising
that extensive agriculture continues in peatlands. It is estimated that 3–4 Mha
peatlands have been drained extensively (Miettinen et al. 2012a, b). This considerable progress has been followed by the establishment of factories and consistent
demand and well-maintained demand for the related agricultural products.
Despite the real promising economic benefits, drainage based agriculture is not
sustainable because it changes the natural hydrological properties of peatlands
(Tacconi 2003; Comte et al. 2012). Peat degradation has been parameterized with
irreversible drying or, using the governmental regulation, peatlands with a lower
water table than À40 cm. The drained peatlands, as such, are prone to fires in dry
seasons (Wösten et al. 2008). Moreover, in the El Niño season, the water table drops
drastically, and peatlands become more susceptible to fires like in 1997/98 (Levine
1999), 2014/2015 (NASA 2016; WB-Group 2016), and in 2019 (the most recent
fires). Drainages cause subsidence, lowering the land surface. Subsidence is resulted
from the consolidation of peat materials as water in macropores is relocated from the
system; following it, peatland is decomposed as more oxygen allows faster decomposition (Ritzema 2001). In combination, there are practices to compact peatlands, as
the more compact the peatlands, more stable the lands for plant growth, preventing
plants from declining. Since then, peatlands are vulnerable to permanent flood
because subsidence decreases the elevation of peatlands and causes failure for
adequate drainage (Acreman and Holden 2013; Hooijer et al. 2015). The vulnerability of peatlands to permanent flood increases, as subsidence decreases the elevation of peatlands (Nicholls et al. 1999). Eventually, peatlands become unproductive
land and it leads to economic loss (Sumarga et al. 2016).
28 Show Windows and Lessons Learned from Peatland Restoration in Indonesia
753