Indonesia Shares Data-Driven Peatland Management Experience at GPI Forum in Peru
Indonesia shared its experience in data-based peatland ecosystem management at a technical-level meeting of the Global Peatlands Initiative (GPI) in Lima, Peru, on Thursday (2/7/2026). The experience presented included a hydrological approach, carbon monitoring, greenhouse gas emission control, and a data-based mapping and monitoring system to support sustainable peatland management.
Agus Justianto, Head of the Interim Secretariat of the International Tropical Peatlands Centre (ITPC) for Forestry, stated that the protection and management of peatland ecosystems is a crucial part of low-carbon development, particularly to support the achievement of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets. “Peatland management is not only about protecting wetlands, but also about how Indonesia—sorry, how Indonesia reduces emissions, maintains hydrological functions, protects biodiversity, and ensures peatland utilisation is carried out sustainably,” Agus said, as quoted on Saturday (4/7/2026).
He explained that the carbon management framework for peatland ecosystems includes protecting peatlands that are still in good condition, sustainable management, preventing damage to peatland cover, preventing drainage, rearranging peatland functions, hydrological restoration, and rehabilitating ecosystem functions after the recovery process. According to Agus, Indonesia’s experience shows that peatland management must be carried out systematically and in an integrated manner, not only at the site scale but also at the Peatland Hydrological Unit (KHG) scale so that water balance, ecosystem functions, and carbon emissions can be controlled optimally.
“The ultimate goal is to achieve an optimal greenhouse gas balance. Therefore, peatland management must ensure that the groundwater level is maintained, avoid excessive drainage, prevent the use of fire, and select commodities that are suitable for peatland characteristics,” he said. Indonesia is also continuing to strengthen peatland restoration research and innovation by involving 17 universities and 10 research institutions. This development includes peatland monitoring systems, water management, paludiculture, carbon accounting, information systems, and field demonstrations as centres for learning and replication of best practices.
Agus stated that Indonesia’s peatland areas have important ecological value as habitats for key wildlife, conservation areas, social management spaces, and climate resilience buffers. Therefore, peatland restoration and protection need to be understood as ecological, social, and economic agendas that run in tandem.
At the same forum, Bambang Supriyanto, Deputy Head of the ITPC Interim Secretariat for Forestry, presented Indonesia’s experience in building a peatland hydrological mapping system based on peat dome depth as a basis for determining priority locations for restoration and management. He explained that hydrological mapping is carried out by dividing the Peatland Hydrological Unit (KHG) into interconnected hydrological sub-areas, including the peat dome zone as a water storage and conservation area, a buffer zone, and a cultivation zone managed according to its characteristics.
“Hydrological mapping is an important foundation because peatland restoration cannot be carried out uniformly. Each location has different water characteristics, land cover, degradation levels, fire history, canals, and community involvement,” said Bambang. Restoration priority determination is carried out using a number of criteria, including peatland function, land cover, forest area function, degradation level, fire incidents, canal density, water bodies, peat class, and hydrological response units. This approach helps the government determine restoration steps, from rewetting and revegetation to revitalising the community’s economy through capacity building, green economy, and sustainable peatland utilisation.
Bambang also emphasised the importance of a monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system to ensure that restoration interventions can be monitored transparently and sustainably. Indonesia has developed a digital data and information system for peatland restoration and mangrove rehabilitation, including water level monitoring, a restoration information system, a fire danger rating system, and field monitoring tools. He stated that the availability of digital data is an important instrument to support decision-making, fire surveillance, water management, and evaluation of peatland restoration achievements from the site level to the national level.
Through this presentation, Indonesia affirmed that peatland management requires a combination of policy, science, monitoring technology, restoration innovation, and community involvement. Indonesia’s experience is expected to serve as a lesson for tropical peatland-owning countries in strengthening climate action, biodiversity conservation, and low-carbon development.