Damaged peatlands are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, annually releasing almost 6% of global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. Peatland restoration is therefore crucial in emissions reductions, thereby mitigating climate change impacts. In the Sungai Tohor area in Riau, Indonesia, its rich peatland is drained to support monoculture plantations (pulpwood) leading to massive fires, land subsidence, and flooding.

The village communities would not be able to survive in the mid to long term without restoring their degraded lands to a healthy peatland ecosystem. Since 2019, the University of Newcastle (Australia) has collaborated with 2 NGOs – People’s Movement to Stop Haze (PM Haze, Singapore) and Ekonomi Kreatif Andalan (EKA, Indonesia), in a peatland restoration project. The main objective is to restore the damaged Sungai Tohor peatland consisting of 3 hectares – 30% burnt and 70% degraded land.

Read More

Mangrove forests have an important role in mitigating climate change. To restore and maintain mangrove forests in Curiak island in the Barito river ecosystem (SouthKalimantan), the Sahabat Bekantan Indonesia Foundation (SBIF) in collaboration with the University of Newcastle(Australia) developed the Mangrove Ecosystem Restoration Program.

This program initiated in 2015 is a partnership platform that works synergistically to save and preserve mangrove forests. Most importantly, saving the mangrove forests plays a major role in protecting the proboscis monkey(Nasalis lavartus)– “bekantan” in Indonesian.

Read More