Protection and Restoration of High Carbon Peatlands Through Improved Governance and Sustainable Management


​Peatlands are one of nature’s most effective climate solutions. In their natural, waterlogged state, these tropical wetlands serve as major carbon sinks and critical water regulators. In Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan - home to approximately 220,000 hectares of peatland - these ecosystems are vital for reducing flood risk during rainy seasons and supporting local livelihoods.

However, peatlands in Ketapang are under increasing threat from degradation and fire, and when peatlands are drained or degraded, they flip from being carbon sinks to emission sources. The impact has been severe: between 2010 and 2023, the regency lost 67,000 hectares of peatland forests, and Ketapang consistently records the highest number of fire hotspots in West Kalimantan. These fires, particularly during the prolonged dry seasons of 2015, 2019, and 2023, have turned what was once flood-buffering peatlands into sources of hazardous haze, impacting public health and causing significant economic disruption.​
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Peatland forest in Sungai Besar, Ketapang, West Kalimantan. (Photo by Tropenbos Indonesia)

​We believe in supporting solutions that focus on conditions that unlock outsized, long-term impact. Realising the full potential of peatlands requires robust policy foundations that enable coordinated action across stakeholders.

To support these efforts, we are funding a programme by Tropenbos Indonesia (TI) that focuses on four key activities. TI adopts a multi-stakeholder collaborative approach that ensures inclusion and participation of communities, government agencies, private sector, and civil society organisations.
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  • Develop and Formalise Peatland Protection and Management Plan: Support the development and formal adoption of a regency-level plan to guide peatland protection, restoration, and sustainable management in Ketapang. 
 
  • Establish Protection Status for a Critical Peat Area: Support the establishment of protection status for a peat-swamp forest on a peat dome to enable long-term protection and restoration. 
 
  • Pilot Peatland-Adaptive Livelihoods: Develop pilot of peat-adaptive agriculture and alternative commodities through "learning plots" alongside capacity building for local farmers and farmer groups.​
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  • Strengthen Readiness to Contribute to Provincial Mitigation Action Plan: Build practical experience in generating, managing and documenting peatland data to support the regency government’s contribution to West Kalimantan province's mitigation action plan.
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Farmers preparing a learning plot for peat-adaptive agriculture. (Photo by Tropenbos Indonesia)

Our partnership with TI reflects QAI's systems-thinking approach - funding enabling conditions in policy, governance, and livelihoods that unlock further action to halt peatland degradation, restore ecosystem functions, and promote sustainable livelihoods. Through TI’s collaboration with regency and provincial stakeholders, the programme supports more coordinated and sustained peatland management efforts, while catalysing a model that can be applied across other peatland regions in Indonesia.
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