jailcd2015043: Re-Peat! “Restore the Peat with Repeating Action” (Case Study: Riau, Sumatra Island, Indonesia)

Abstract

Indonesia is the world’s third-largest carbon dioxide emitter. 60% of CO2 emissions are produced from peat swamp forest soils due to logging and drainage for developing agricultural areas like oil palm plantations. Emissions between 149 Mton CO2 and 170Mton CO2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year caused by 13 million hectares of palm oil plantations on peat drainage for palm oil in Indonesia. Peatlands are not very suitable for oil palm production; soil fertility is poor and far too wet for these trees. Therefore they are being logged and deeply drained. This however leads to tremendous carbon dioxide emissions, soil subsidence and to the rapid loss of biodiversity. Sumatra has dramatic decline on peatland that plunged from 75% to 28% between 1990 to 2010. Some areas have been converted into agricultural land whereas others remain as wastelands suffering from annual wildfires in the dry season. The design try to restore mutually beneficial interactions between elements, that engage with local communities on finding a sustainable balance between the activities of people and the fragile peatland ecosystem they depend on. The design will be conducted at local scale that can be replicate on the needed space and have multiplier effect at bigger scale and triggering a system wide change. Our concept is Re-Peat! (restore the peat with repeating action) to bring ecosystem and habitat that have been destroyed to restore again where they are life-giving. Concept of Re-Peat! consist of 3 intervention on peatlands, such as Regreening, Rewetting, and Revitalizing. Re-Wetting is Hydrological Restoration and management on peatland area. Re-Greening is sustainable forestry and agriculture on peatland. Re-Vitalizing is acupuncture of flexible community space on surrounding peatland area. Design modul will take place on existing drainage by blocking the canal for rewetting the peatland, build paludiculture to cultivate biomass, and build connection between local communities with different activities in peatland area that beneficial in social and economy for them. Gradually the design will change the degraded peatlands into it formal state.