This year’s Global Landscapes Forum, held mid-May in Jakarta, focused on peatlands, described as “one of the least-understood ecosystems” by Tim Christophersen, senior programme officer for Forests and Climate Change with the UN Environment Programme.
Led by the Centre for International Forestry Research, the Forum, an annual event since 2013, aims to shed light on the importance of peatlands not only for climate change mitigation, but also for community development and livelihoods.
Indonesia and Sweden will highlight four research collaborations following a visit by Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia to the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) here, Monday.
“The two countries will hold collaborations, including in peatlands managements, social and business projects, and information and technology applications in the forestry sector,” a CIFOR scientist Herry Purnomo said on the sidelines of the kings visit to CIFOR office in West Java Provinces Bogor City. Purnomo stated Indonesia and Sweden will collaborate on research projects in the environmental sector. “The King of Sweden is known to be a staunch environmentalist,” Purnomo remarked, while adding that future collaborations would be focused on preserving Indonesian peatlands areas.
This article is also published on Media Indonesia
Usai bertemu Presiden Joko Widodo di Istana Kepresidenan Bogor, Raja Swedia Carl XVI Gustaf dan Ratu Silvia kembali melanjutkan kunjungannya ke Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor) yang berada di Kota Bogor, Senin (22/5).Dalam kunjungannya tersebut, Raja dan Ratu Swedia itu melakukan kampanye perubahan iklim global dengan cara melakukan penanaman pohon Kayu Ulin.
Director General Cifor Peter Holmgren mengatakan pohon Kayu Ulin khas Kalimantan yang ditanam di lingkungan Istana dan hutan Cifor tersebut sebagai simbol kepedulian kehutanan Swedia. “Penanaman ini untuk mengimbangi penebangan pohon. Untuk itu Cifor dan pemerintah Indonesia terus menyoroti dan menyebarkan pelaksanaan menjaga kehutanan yang berkelanjutan,” paparnya, Senin (22/5). Peter menambahkan, Kayu Ulin yang juga dijuluki Iron Wood ini merupakan kayu yang sangat luar biasa dan tumbuh alami di hutan hujan tropics Indonesia. Penanaman pohon yang dilakukan Raja Swedia ini juga sebagai wujud nyata komitmen CIFOR dalam mempraktekan konservasi hutan lestari Indonesia.
This article is also published on Antara News and The Jakarta Post
A new agency has been created to restore burned-out swathes and President Joko Widodo has promised more resources to fight fires. The government, through its newly minted Peatland Restoration Agency, has restored about 270,000 hectares. It’s promised an additional 150,000 hectares will be restored before the end of the year.
“The political will is there. The government was deeply embarrassed by the fires in 2015,” says Herry Purnomo, a researcher at the Centre for International Forestry Research in Bogor, 40km from Jakarta. “The government is pulling in the same direction, and for the police their careers depend on preventing fires. This is significant.”
Sejumlah ahli dari beberapa lembaga penelitian lingkungan dan kehutanan menyarankan semua negara pemilik gambut memperbanyak penggunaan pengetahuan lokal yang sukses digunakan mengelola lahan gambut selama ini.
Director General Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Peter Holmgrem mengatakan perlu dipastikan semua pemangku kepentingan, mulai dari pemerintah, komunitas, akademisi, ahli dapat bekerja sama dalam pengelolaan lahan gambut dengan benar.
There should be no haze from Indonesia affecting the region this year, Mr Nazir Foead, the chief of Indonesia’s Peatland Restoration Agency, said on Thursday (May 18).
“(Considering) the prediction with the drought, with the preparation that the Government is making, and the re-wetting activities… I would say, there should be no more haze going to neighbours,” Mr Nazir told reporters on the sidelines of an international conference on peatlands, organised by the Indonesia-based Centre for International Forestry Research.
Last week, Daniel Murdiyarso, senior scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) accompanied a group of reporters to visit Tanjung Leban village in Bengkalis district, Riau. There, some local farmers are trying new crops after losing their oil palm plots to fires and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is conducting research. As a scientist, peatlands matter to him because of their unique biological and conservation values. The scientific community is now documenting how immensely valuable peatlands are in storing carbon – and therefore for mitigating climate change.
Indonesia has an important leadership role to play by showing other countries around the world how to improve the lives of communities and conserve threatened species that are dependent on peatlands.
This article is also published on The Jakarta Post under title Insight: Peatlands matter for Indonesia, and the world
Center for Internatioal Forestry Research (CIFOR) is carrying out a long-term study on the condition of peatland in Tanjung Leban, Bengkalis District, Riau Province, to monitor the dynamism of carbon circulation on peatland that were restored after being gutted in fire.
“The study will be carried out for three to five years, by measuring several parameters in three different monitoring plots,” said Prof Daniel Murdiyarso, senior CIFOR scientist in Tanjung Leban village, 256 km of Pekanbaru, Riau, Wednesday.
This article is also published on Bisnis.com under title Restorasi Gambut: CIFOR Teliti Kondisi Lahan and Antara News under title CIFOR teliti efektivitas restorasi gambut di Riau