MAWAS PEATLAND REHABILITATION PROGRAM

Destruction of forest and peatland in Kalimantan has led to tragedies for local communities.  In Central Kalimantan in particular, the loss of forest products – both timber and non-timber products, worsening air pollution causing various health problems due to haze from frequent forest fires, and declining agricultural productivity caused by flooding are some of the major problems facing local communities.  On a global scale peat forest destruction results in large amounts of carbon emissions being emitted into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.

Ensuring that peatland remains wet and preventing forest fires are the key to solving these problems.

Cross-Sector Collaboration
The Mawas Conservation Program, in joint cooperation with the Central Kalimantan Peatland Project (CKPP) (2006-2009), the Kalimantan Forests and Climate Partnership (KFCP) (ongoing since 2010), the Kapuas District Government, and the Central Kalimantan Provincial Government, has been involved in restoration of peatland functions in damaged areas. The ongoing collaboration with the KFCP project targets the restoration and rehabilitation of peatland areas across 120,000 hectares of peatland through reforestation activities, fire management, canal blocking, vegetation monitoring and community empowerment. The project aims to demonstration Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) ¬– a global effort to mitigate climate change while delivering social and environmental benefits to forest rich tropical countries.

The human population of Central Kalimantan Province is approximately 2.5 million and is growing by two percent annually. Most people live in rural areas and make a living from agriculture and fishing.  In Katunjung Village, Mantangai Sub-District, Kapuas District, most of the villagers are rubber farmers. Another very important source of livelihood income in Katunjung is bark extraction from  the gemor tree (Alseodaphne coriacea) to make mosquito repellant coils.  Here the community lives along the banks of Kapuas River and every family here uses the river for washing, fishing and transport. Katunjung is one of seven villages where restoration activities will be implemented.

Barn of Problems
A warm and lively conversation with Mr. Sugiat – a member of the Village Consultative Body in Katunjung Village – accompanied with a large pot of coffee and local pastries at his residence, was an eye-opener to the complexity of this restoration project.

Destruction of important peat forest and natural hydrology started during the Mega Rice Project dubbed “One Million Hectare Rice Barn” back in the Suharto era (between 1996-1999) where canals were created to drain water from peat areas so that the land could be cultivated.  Tatas, which are small man-made canals that originally functioned to connect the rivers or large canals with forest areas, were similarly established during that period making it easy to access timber in the forest. The result was devastating. The peatland became both drought prone and flood prone. The “One Million Hectare Rice Barn” ended up becoming a barn of problems.

Blocking The Tatas
Understanding this, the aim of the peatland rehabilitation activities within the Mawas area therefore is to restore peat hydrology by refilling the canals and tatas to rewet the peat. Working closely with the communities we construct small dams, locally known as tabat at various critical points along the tatas. By making small changes to the design of the tatas we create small reservoir systems.

The reservoir systems stabilize the water levels and drive the water flow to critical areas, thus preventing drought and fire during  dry seasons. The tatas can also still be used to access non-timber forest products such as gemor, rattan and damar resin. Furthermore, around the tabat areas, endemic trees of economic values are replanted to reforest the area and to prevent flooding in monsoon seasons.

A Long Process
The theory is simple However in practice, the project is complex and requires a series of activities which, begin with socialization activities in the villages as well as a personal approach to owners of the tatas in each village, informing and educating them of the creation of tabat’s (dams) and to obtain information and input regarding the plan.

Progressing forward, through a series of meetings with the communities, we determined the targets of tatas blocking and conducted comprehensive surveys to record measurements and obtain dimensional data of the tatas in each targeted block.  Then, we performed further re-socialization and consultation activities with owners of the tatas to inform them on the results of the surveys and to finalize water gate/ tatas blocking development targets. At this stage, an owner had the right to withdraw and decide not to allow his water access route (tatas)  to be redesigned with water gates. There was no coercion at all.

Involvement was voluntary
Following completion of the above activities, the Mawas Team through the KFCP project activities thenprovided technical training. Meanwhile, the women in the villages were engaged to begin a nursery activities for tree species cultivation and planting will be continue by the men.  These are all important steps towards the implementation phase of building water gates (tatas blocking) and reforestation can commence. The work is not finished there. The planted trees must be maintained to ensure the realization of our main objective, which is to reforest areas and rehabilitate peat swamp to prevent droughts, fires and floods, and improve the local economy.

Currently, the process of blocking the small canals in Mawas through the KFCP project has reached the final stage. Until 2013, nurseries have been established in the seven villages, namely Kalumpang, Katimpun, Sei Ahas, Katunjung, Tumbang Muroi, Petak Puti, and Mantangai Hulu. Now, we are entering the stage of actually blocking the small canals and planting. After which, we will carry on with the maintenance phase while continuing to make improvements where necessary.

That’s how complex the process of peatland rehabilitation is. And how easy it was for people to destroy forests without thinking of the consequences, highlighting the sheer importance of peatland rehabilitation activities in Mawas to continue to preserve this unique ecosystem in order to sustain all living things, and of course to improve the welfare of mankind.