INDONESIA’S TROPICAL PEATLANDS REVISITED: AREA, DEPTH, CARBON POTENTIAL, AND THEIR IMPORTANCE

Abstract

Indonesia has the largest tropical peatlands in the Asia-Pacific region and the world’s second largest tropical peatlands. Growing concerns on peatland conservation and restoration emphasise the importance of these ecosystems for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Although Indonesia’s peatlands are well-studied compared with other tropical countries, there are still uncertainties regarding its peat volume and carbon stock estimations, and how important it is locally and globally. To solve these uncertainties, this study estimated peat volume and carbon stock in Indonesia using the national peatlands data published by the
Ministry of Agriculture, Republic of Indonesia and analysed greenhouse gas emissions among the major industrial sectors in the country and global emissions by peatland degradation. Our study posited that anthropogenic disturbance degraded Indonesian peatlands and that the country could become the largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. Therefore, successful conservation and restoration of Indonesia’s peatlands could significantly contribute to global climate change mitigation and adaptation.