Indonesia`s Peatlands Hold One Gigaton Carbon Reserves Annually

Jambi, June 23 (Antara) - Tropical peatlands in Indonesia are annually able to hold one gigaton of carbon reserves due to which they should be preserved to help address the impacts of climate change, according to an official.

"Peatland areas existing in seven Indonesian provinces and the damaged ones that are being restored could reduce carbon emissions amounting to one gigaton annually," Nazir Foead, head of the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG), said here, Thursday.

The carbon reserve stored in Indonesian peatlands is quite huge and is nearly equivalent to the carbon emissions in Germany that has a gross domestic product (GDP) five times larger than Indonesia`s GDP.

Carbon emissions from industries and transportation in Germany reached 970 million tons annually, and it is almost the same amount of carbon reserves in Indonesia`s peatlands.

Indonesia has 20 million hectares of peatlands, or the world`s largest. The country`s peatland areas are located on Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Papua Islands.

"Peatlands in Indonesia play a significant role in coping with the impacts of climate change," he noted.

The country`s forest fires in 2015 had mostly occurred in peatland areas.

Several researchers claimed that the forest fires in 2015 had produced 800 million tons to 1.6 gigatons of carbon emissions, or 10 percent of the global carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion.

He pointed out that several countries have expressed their commitment to supporting the peatland restoration program in Indonesia.

Peatland restoration in Jambi has been financially supported by funding institutions from the US through the Millenium Challenge Account-Indonesia program.

Britain has provided three million Pound sterling for the restoration of peatlands in five provinces, including Jambi.

Canada and several European countries have strengthened their commitment to helping Indonesia address the impacts of climate change, he added.

Japan and South Korea have also provided funds for the peatland restoration program.

This year, the BRG plans to build some 5,600 canal dams that could help 400 thousand hectares of peatlands remain wet.