Peatland Management and Restoration in Central Kalimantan and Riau: The Role of Local Community Participation

Over the years peatlands in Indonesia have suffered considerable damage, becoming vulnerable to hazards such as fires. The destruction of peatland is due to both legal and illegal logging, along with land conversion for agriculture, mining, and industrial forestry—including the planting of oil palm, paddy rice, and Industrial Forest Plantations (Hutan Tanaman Industri)—all of which lead to forest fires, deforestation, and forest degradation. This article addresses two points: first, the contributions of private companies to forest fires; and second, how local people in Riau and Central Kalimantan Provinces actively participate in sustainable peat swamp forest management and restoration. Building on various participation approaches as a theoretical framework for the analysis of peatland management and restoration, this study uses both political ecology, which emphasizes the roles of stakeholders (government, private companies, nongovernmental organizations, academics, local people), and the actor-oriented approach to development. The findings of the study indicate that the private sector contributes significantly to the deterioration of peatlands in Indonesia. Conversely, government policy plays a crucial role in driving and supporting restoration efforts according to the 3R (rewetting, revegetation, and revitalization) model. Furthermore, a key finding across all research locations is the significant role played by village-level actors, such as the village head, who can draw on various types of capital in shaping the effectiveness of peat restoration programs. Actors at the village level are not necessarily homogeneous; there is a complex mix of actors with unique contexts and interaction dynamics in each research location.