PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – Indonesia’s peatland ecosystems continue to face serious threats due to unsustainable human activities. Kaoem Telapak and Pantau Gambut have released a joint study titled “Tracking Peatland Management: Threats, Conflicts, and a Sustainable Future.” The study highlights the dangers posed by land-use changes and forest fires, as well as challenges in enforcing environmental regulations at both national and international levels.
The history of peatland degradation in Indonesia underscores its vulnerability to exploitation. Large-scale land clearing for Industrial Plantation Forests (HTI), oil palm plantations, and national strategic programs such as the Food Estate initiative are the main drivers of peatland ecosystem degradation. Currently, approximately 9.5 million hectares of peatland are under plantation, logging, and HTI concessions.
According to Wahyu Perdana, Advocacy and Campaign Manager at Pantau Gambut, peatlands store up to 30% of the world’s soil carbon reserves. “This makes peatlands a significant natural carbon sink while also supporting Indigenous Peoples and local communities that depend on these natural resources,” he explained during the launch of the peatland study report, a collaboration between Kaoem Telapak and Pantau Gambut, as reported by Palmoilmagazine.com on Tuesday (25/2/2025).
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The study reveals poor peatland management, particularly in three concessions in Central Kalimantan. Key issues include recurrent fires in concession areas, conflicts with local communities, and overlaps with the Food Estate project. These findings highlight weak peatland protection and a lack of government enforcement.
Additionally, the study reviews the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification and the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR). It found that ISPO still faces major challenges, such as weak oversight and discrepancies between corporate practices and ISPO standards outlined in Ministerial Regulation 38/2020. Meanwhile, the EUDR is criticized for not adequately considering peatland ecosystems, as its definition of “forests” does not cover these unique landscapes.
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Kaoem Telapak campaigner Ziadatunnisa Latifa emphasized that analyzing regulatory weaknesses aims to provide concrete recommendations for strengthening peatland protection. “This ensures Indonesia upholds its commitments to global climate change mitigation and prevents large-scale deforestation in the future,” said Zia.
The study also uncovered corporate non-compliance with national and international peatland regulations. Several companies in Central Kalimantan, such as PT Agrindo Green Lestari, PT Citra Agro Abadi, and PT Bangun Cipta Mitra Perkasa, were found to have engaged in deforestation and the conversion of protected peatlands into oil palm plantations. For instance, PT Citra Agro Abadi was discovered planting oil palm in a conservation-designated peatland area, while PT Bangun Cipta Mitra Perkasa has a history of recurring land fires since 2015 and overlapping land conflicts with the Food Estate project.
Peatland protection efforts require a multi-faceted approach. “This includes strengthening regulations and law enforcement on oil palm plantation governance in peatlands, increasing community participation in regulatory improvements, enhancing coordination between ministries and related agencies, and advocating to palm oil consumer countries about peatland ecosystem vulnerabilities. Sustainable certifications like ISPO and regulatory frameworks such as EUDR must also be reinforced,” Zia concluded. (P2)
