We have set ourselves the target of restoring 1.2 million hectares of peatland between 2021 and 2024.Palangka Raya, C Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The National Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM) has said it is aiming to restore 1.2 million hectares of peatland in seven provinces in Indonesia by 2024.
"We have set ourselves the target of restoring 1.2 million hectares of peatland between 2021 and 2024," chief of BRGM's peatland restoration working group for Kalimantan and Papua, Jany Tri Raharjo, said during an online dialogue, accessed from Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan on Tuesday.
The seven provinces where peatland will be restored are Riau, South Sumatra, Jambi, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and Papua, he informed.
Peatland restoration will be conducted through rewetting peatland, replanting different species of peatland plants, and improving the welfare of local people, he said.
In 2021, BRGM will also build 35 units of artesian wells, 809 units of canal blocking, revegetate 325 hectares of land, and revitalize 168 parcels of land in the seven provinces, he informed .
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The restoration project is expected to impact 300 thousand hectares of peatland and the hydrological function of the peatland ecosystem, which keeps the peatland wet or dry, and reduce the risk of peatland fires, Raharjo said.
"Right now the seven provinces have 15,594 units of artesian wells, 7,133 units of canal blocking, and 431 units of canal backfilling," he informed.
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Meanwhile, BRGM secretary Ayu Dewi Utari said the handling of peatlands is a collective responsibility.
"The activities of BRG which are now being continued by BRGM and the local government will be of no use if all parties, particularly the affected people, do not support them," she remarked while opening the dialogue on the management of peatland in Kalimantan.
She then expressed the hope that all elements of the community would support the project that aims to anticipate forest and land fires and make use of the peatland ecosystem in a wise manner.
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Translator: Rendhik Andika, Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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