Last updated: June 2024
Indonesia’s peatlands are among the most vulnerable ecosystems on Earth and also have significant potential as carbon sinks (1,2). Fire risk in Sumatra's peatland areas is high due to canals that were dug for logging and plantation development (1,2). The Sumatra Merang Peatland Project was thus launched to restore the area as the massive forest fire in 2015 destroyed thousands of hectares of biodiverse tropical forest (1). This project includes restoring more than 22,900 hectares of peatland rainforest in the Merang region, located within Musi Banyuasin Province, South Sumatra in Indonesia (1,2,3). The project targets the Merang biodiversity corridor, one of the largest and deepest peat swamps in South Sumatra, which protects an area more than 3.5 times the size of Manhattan (New York City) (1,2,3). This project is a part of the Althelia Climate Fund and was implemented on the ground by Indonesian Companies named PT Global Alam Lestari (GAL) and Forest Carbon (1,2,3,4,5). The project aims and contributes to climate change mitigation and ecosystem resilience by peat rewetting and reforestation, protecting biodiversity and working with local communities to build and improve livelihoods (1,3). The first stage of the project is considered completed and is considered to achieve positive impacts already, but it still aims to upscale certain activities until 2025 (3,4,5). The total lifetime of the project extends to 2062 (4).
Project area mapping
By Forest Carbon, available at https://forestcarbon.com/projects/
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- In-land wetlands, peatlands, swamps, and moors
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change mitigation
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Habitat and biodiversity conservation
- Green space creation and/or management
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Inclusive governance
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Economic development: agriculture
- Employment/job creation
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Maintenance and management of urban nature, Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas, Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Protection of natural ecosystems, Monitoring and maintenance of habitats and/or biodiversity
Project objectives
- To strengthen the Merang Biodiversity Corridor, one of the globally important peatland forest ecosystems found in Indonesia
- To develop a model for large-scale peatland forest restoration
- To rehabilitate the project area by improving carbon absorption potential
- To reduce the risk of forest fire by fostering regrowth in the area
- To rehabilitate the area by blocking man-made canals to restore the natural water table levels on the site
- To protect the natural habitat and create a conservation area for the Sumatran Tiger and other endangered species
- To promote economic development and improve livelihoods through community engagement (working with local communities)
- To support the local enterprises in surrounding villages of the project area (such as sustainable fishing production)
- Watershed management/protection for livelihood activities (for local communities)
- To enable greater access to clean water for local communities (1,2,3)
Implementation activities
1. Climate finance supports several key activities to increase the resilience of the ecosystem through peat-rewetting and reforestation:
- Regeneration and regrowth of standing trees: Restoration of degraded peatland forest through the plantation of native trees and vegetation species
- Fire prevention: Construction of compaction peatland dams to prevent further drainage of water across the project zone
- Forest monitoring: Use of innovative technologies such as satellites and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors are used to locate and prevent fires and tackle illegal land clearance. Ground teams patrol the project to monitor the health of the landscape (1,3).
2. Protecting Biodiversity
- Mapping and drone surveys of the entire project area provide new data for project teams to monitor biodiversity effectively (1,3)
3. Working with communities and building livelihoods
- low-carbon livelihoods programmes
- community development initiatives such as public health campaigns, water/sanitation, infrastructure and education programmes
- anti-stunting campaign
- sustainable livelihood programmes with villages near the project, including fishing and smallholder cropping (of Sago, Jelutung, coconut and palm fruit)
- capacity and market connections for sustainable fishing production with nearby villages (1,3).
2020 project milestones:
- 91 compaction dams were installed for peatland rewetting, bringing the total to more than 180 and resulting in a water table rise of over 6 cm
- The project achieved its first remote audit during the COVID-19 pandemic using innovative remote monitoring technology
- An Internet of Things (IoT) sensor network was deployed at over 70 locations across the project zone (3).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change mitigation:
- Increase green urban nature for carbon storage (wetlands, tree cover)
- Implement sustainable forest management measures to increase carbon sinks/ improve carbon storage
- Improve carbon sequestration through selection of more adaptable species
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity conservation:
- Protect and enhance urban habitats
- Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
- Create new habitats
- Protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect native species
- Undertake specific measures to protect endangered species
- Undertake specific measures to protect valued species
- Means for conservation governance
- Manage biological resources for conservation and sustainable use
- Protect and apply traditional knowledge and conservation practices
Biodiversity restoration:
- Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Restore native species
- Restore valued species
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- National government
- Local government/municipality
- Public sector institution
- Citizens or community group
- Private sector/corporate actor/company
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
- Co-management/Joint management
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The project benefited from the involvement of the following actors who had defined roles:
The Government of Indonesia created the National Peatland Restoration Agency to restore affected areas by declaring them protected zones. To these areas contributed financially 2 Indonesian companies, Forest Carbon (an Indonesian technical advisory company specialising in sustainability initiatives and forest carbon projects to protect tropical rainforests across Southeast Asia) and PT Global Alam Lestari (GAL) (an Indonesian company licensed to hold and manage forest concessions, specializing in restoration, ground operations and biodiversity protection). Contributing financially meant that Forest Carbon and GAL sold credit carbons to various international commercial companies, money which then was invested in the community of Sumatra Merang. After finances were settled, Fire management and forest patrol were strengthened by regular interaction with law enforcement (to prevent fires and to destroy large machinery that was being used for illegal logging operations in the project area), Ministry of Forestry officials and local community members ( to reduce logging and destroy large machinery used for logging) and rehabilitate peatlands through tree planting). (1,2,3,4,5)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
Yes
(The project is an Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land-Use (AFOLU) project under the Reduced Emissions from Degradation and Deforestation (REDD+) mechanism. (4)
Indonesia REDD+ NATIONAL STRATEGY 2021-2030. (7))
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
More than €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Corporate investment
- Institutional investors
Type of funding
- Other
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
- Provision of labour
- Provision of expertise
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
- Private sector (businesses, financial institution)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Enhanced carbon sequestration
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Increased number of species present
- Increased protection of threatened species
Economic impacts
- Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Fair distribution of social, environmental and economic benefits of the NBS project
- Education
- Increased support for education and scientific research
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts, Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
Yes
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. Forest Carbon. Sumatra Merang Peatland Project. Forest Carbon, available at Source link (accessed 01-03-2023)
2. Ecosphere. Sumatra Merang Peatland Project, Indonesia. Ecosphere, available at Source link (accessed 01-03-2023)
3. Forest Carbon. (2022). Peatland ecosystem restoration in Indonesia. Ecosphere, Source link (accessed 01-03-2023)
4. Crair, Ben. (2022). Sumatra Merang Peatland Project. Natural Climate Solutions Alliance, available at Source link (accessed 01-03-2023)
5. Earthly. Peatland Protection & Restoration, Sumatra. Earthly, available at Source link (accessed 01-03-2023)
6. Axa (2021), AXA increases its contribution to the restoration of the Sumatra Merang Peatland, available at Source link (accessed 02-04-2023)
7. Ministry of Enviornment and Forestry (2021), Indonesia, Redd National Strategy, available at Source link (accessed 02-04-2023)
8. Forest Carbon (no date), Peatland ecosystem restoration in Indonesia, available at Source link (accessed 02-04-2023)
2. Ecosphere. Sumatra Merang Peatland Project, Indonesia. Ecosphere, available at Source link (accessed 01-03-2023)
3. Forest Carbon. (2022). Peatland ecosystem restoration in Indonesia. Ecosphere, Source link (accessed 01-03-2023)
4. Crair, Ben. (2022). Sumatra Merang Peatland Project. Natural Climate Solutions Alliance, available at Source link (accessed 01-03-2023)
5. Earthly. Peatland Protection & Restoration, Sumatra. Earthly, available at Source link (accessed 01-03-2023)
6. Axa (2021), AXA increases its contribution to the restoration of the Sumatra Merang Peatland, available at Source link (accessed 02-04-2023)
7. Ministry of Enviornment and Forestry (2021), Indonesia, Redd National Strategy, available at Source link (accessed 02-04-2023)
8. Forest Carbon (no date), Peatland ecosystem restoration in Indonesia, available at Source link (accessed 02-04-2023)
Peatland Ecosystem in Indonesia
By Forest Carbon, available at https://forestcarbon.com/projects/
Project area accessibility by boat due to its highly remote location
By Forest Carbon, available at https://ecosphere.plus/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ecosphere-Plus-Sumatra-Merang-Indonesia.pdf
Data driven technologies for landscape management
By Forest Carbon, available at https://forestcarbon.com/projects/
Community development to improve livelihoods
By Forest Carbon, available at https://forestcarbon.com/projects/
Investing in local communities
By Forest Carbon, available at https://forestcarbon.com/projects/
Protection of critically endangered species - Sumatran Tiger
By Forest Carbon, available at https://ecosphere.plus/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Ecosphere-Plus-Sumatra-Merang-Indonesia.pdf
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the "NBS 2022" UNA Asian extension project funded by the Asia-Europe Foundation.