Can REDD+ Save Central Kalimantan’s Peatlands?

By Alue Dohong

Since the emergence of REDD+ scheme in the climate change mitigation discourse, there is a high hope that this new climate mechanism will do a lot to tackle deforestation and forest degradation issues including peatlands. REDD+ scheme is often perceived as an effective and cheaper market-based mechanism to halt current deforestation and forest degradation rates in tropical forest states. In addition, the presence of REDD+ is desirable to provide co-benefits to boost local economic as well as promoting the protection of endemic and rare biodiversity from extinction threat.

Despite unresolved political and technical issues that currently surroundings REDD+ scheme development, however, many stakeholders still put their high expectation that this new scheme can be shortly put in place and prove its effectiveness in resolving deforestation and forest degradation issues.

About more than 50% out of 3.01 million hectares peatlands in Central Kalimantan is under degradation state. This degradation rate is driven by peat forest conversion, drainage and repeated fires. Conversion of peat forest to oil palm plantation, agriculture and tree plantation and so forth is often seen as major responsible for peatlands destruction and degradation in the province. In addition, construction of drainage along with peat forest conversion activities has scaled up the degradation magnitude, which in turn puts peatlands under continuous and steady depletion. The rate of Central Kalimantan’s peatlands degradation is predicted upsurge in coming years if there is no viable and effective measures put in place to stall the above major drivers.

The presence of REDD+ and the selection of Central Kalimantan as a REDD+ pilot province by national government provide a good chance for answering peatland deforestation and degradation challenges in the province. The next question is whether or not REDD+ scheme is capable and be an effective means to ease current peatlands degradation trend? The answer upon above question is relatively difficult, but REDD+ could be proper answer if it satisfies the following conditions, criteria and indicators.

Firstly, REDD+ manages to promote the protection of remnant peat forest from further conversion, drainage and fires. There are about 1.5 million hectares of peat forest is still in good and pristine conditions and around 40% out of this figure, by law is under protection and conservation status. Although their protection status is clear, however, there is no guarantee that this protected peat swamp forest is free from encroachment and degradation threats. Hence, REDD+ can be judged as an effective means if succeeded to ensure current peat forest is free from new perturbations.

Secondly, REDD+ enables to rehabilitate and to restore at a minimum 50% of existing degraded peatlands. As aforementioned, more than 1.5 million hectares peatlands in Central Kalimantan under degradation state and REDD+ will be appreciated as an effective method in saving Central Kalimantan peatland if managed to rehabilitate and to restore a minimum 750,000 hectares of current Central Kalimantan’s degraded peatlands.

Thirdly, REDD+ facilitates the provision of alternative livelihoods and create better income for about 300,000 poor people that are currently relied their source of livelihoods and incomes from peatland resources (timber, NTFPs, fishery, etc.). REDD+ will be seen as an effective means if it could compensate the potential lost of local communities opportunity costs result from shifting their current business as usual activities into protection, conservation and restoration of peatlands under REDD+ scheme.

Fourthly, REDD+ facilitates the resolution of current tenurial conflicts as well as strengthening land ownership status of local communities upon their lands. Unclear tenurial system and unfavourable ownership scheme toward local people are often seen as a major source of land use conflicts in the peatlands areas in Central Kalimantan, and those issues have directly and indirectly contribute to the degradation of existing peatlands. REDD+ will be perceived as an effective model if it could relief the current tenurial and land ownership issues.

Fifthly, REDD+ will not undermine the rights of landowners and local communities upon their natural assets and other ecosystem services attach to it. Legacy of a REDD+ activity within community land is not automatically the transfer of whole natural physical asset and its ecosystem services rights from landowner or/and local communities to the REDD+ buyers/funders.   REDD+ credits buyers are just eligible to own or trade the financial asset (Certified Emission Reductions) that generates only from regulation service (carbon for climate regulation), while the other peatland services such water, timbers, NTFPs, tourism and socio-culture are still belong to and under ownership as well as jurisdiction of land owners and local communities. This condition is also applied to the physical/land asset where REDD+ activities taken place. If REDD+ scheme is guaranteed the protection of landowners and/or local people rights upon their natural assets and its ecosystem services, then, REDD+ scheme will receive positive welcome as means to save peatland in Central Kalimantan.  

Sixthly, REDD+ is capable to influence and redirect stakeholders' exploitative mind-set into sustainable and wise use ways ones when managing peatlands resources. One of the root causes of peatlands destruction in Central Kalimantan is stemmed from exploitative attitude of related stakeholders toward peatlands resources. This mistaken attitude results from stakeholders’ lack of knowledge and understanding upon other peatlands ecosystem services functions and values apart from just timber production function. As a result, there is a tendency and attempts to convert peat swamp and peatlands areas into other land uses if such standing timbers getting less on the ground, while on the other hand, they disregarding the existence of other use and non-use values. Hence, if REDD+ is able to change existing stakeholders’ productive mindset into more adaptive and sustainable ones, then, REDD+ will be a successful approach to save Central Kalimantan’s Peatlands.

Seventhly, REDD+ is proven effective in facilitating and improving local policy changing toward peatland conservation, protection and sustainable management and practice. Many sectoral and local policies are currently less favourable toward conservation, protection and sustainable use of peatlands. These policies are signified peatlands destruction in Central Kalimantan and if there is no viable policy improvement put in place, the future of peatlands resource in the region will be under great pressure. REDD+ scheme can play a leading role in changing and redirect current policies into new direction that favour toward conservation, protection and sustainable use of peatlands, and if such preceding aspiration is captured accurately by REDD+, then the future of peatlands in Central Kalimantan will be good chance to save.

Eighthly, REDD+ scheme succeeds in promoting and mainstreaming the value of endemic and rare biodiversity (both flora and fauna) that exists in peatlands areas into protection and conservation policy measures. Many endemic, charismatic and rare peatlands biodiversity are only found and exist in peatlands ecosystem, however, they are under extinction threats owing to improper peatlands management policy and practises.  Therefore, if REDD+ scheme is able to apprehend the issue of biodiversity protection and channel it into peatlands protection policy measures then, this scheme will be appreciated for its role in protecting and conserving peatlands biodiversity in Central Kalimantan. 

Finally, REDD+ is ample to explore economic benefits and attach financial values onto other indirect use and non-use values of peatlands. Out of timber and other NTFPs, there are huge potential economic and financial values that peatlands ecosystem services offered and served for humanity needs, however, most values of these services are not captured and reflected adequately in the human utility basket due to market failure and information gaps. Consequently, both economic and financial values of those indirect and non-use peatlands ecosystem services are often undervalued, which further leads to the disregards of these services values in the economic and financial decision making processes.  Hence, if REDD+ scheme to be champion of Central Kalimantan peatlands protection, it should able to boost other indirect use and non-use peatlands values into stakeholders economic and financial decisions.

To sum up, it is probably too earlier to say that REDD+ scheme is an effective and proper answer for saving Central Kalimantan’ peatlands from destruction and depletion threats. But it is also a naïve presumption to conclude that REDD+ has no opportunity and room for improving peatlands management practise in the province. Therefore, prior a conclusion is made, there is necessary to develop successful criteria and indictor by including aforementioned nine aspects and apply this evaluation tool when assessing the magnitude REDD+ successful.