These unique habitats store massive amounts of carbon, with stocks below ground amounting to up to 20 times the amount stored in trees and vegetation. Despite covering just 3% of the Earth’s surface, they store more carbon than all other vegetation types in the world combined. When peatlands are cleared, drained or burned, the carbon stored within them is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

Indonesia contains some 36% of the world’s tropical peatlands, however they are increasingly being destroyed to make room for plantation crops including oil palm and acacia. From 2000 to 2015, the country lost an average of 498,000 hectares of forest each year.

The Katingan Restoration and Conservation Project is located within the districts of Katingan and Kotawaringin Timur in the Central Kalimantan Province of Indonesian Borneo.  The project sets out to protect and restore 149,800 hectares of peatland ecosystem.  

This includes the protection of existing peatland forest through satellite monitoring and fire management. The forests are monitored through high-resolution satellite imagery which allow for the quick detection of small scale disturbances, such as logging or fire, giving field staff the ability to intervene before degradation turns into deforestation. 

When the above-ground vegetation is cleared and the soil is drained, dried peat becomes highly susceptible to fires. The team manages to prevent fires from damaging the project area through a highly sophisticated process which includes 500+ trained community firefighters, drones, satellite monitoring and planting sections of fires-resistant tree species.  

The team on the ground not only protect the area by preventing fire and illegal logging, but they also work to restore previously degraded areas of peatland forests through intensive peatland rewetting activities. These efforts include the blocking and backfilling of canals which take water away from the area, and the construction of deep wells. 

Through the protection and restoration of peatland ecosystems, the project pursues three core goals: Firstly to protect the carbon stored within these peatlands and prevent its release into the atmosphere, mitigating climate change. Second, to protect the rich biodiversity of the region; this area is an important habitat for a diverse community of plant and animal species, containing 44 critically endangered or vulnerable species, including 5-10% of the world’s remaining Bornean orangutan population.

Finally, this project works to improve the well-being and sustainable economic prospects of the 43,000 local people, through initiatives such as micro-finance loans to support local female-led business, youth job training and internships, and the provision of health education and wellbeing support for the most vulnerable community members. 

The Katingan Mentaya Project is a conservation enterprise that is founded on the understanding that forest environments, wildlife, and local rural communities are all closely connected and intertwined, and that to improve one element, you must engage all three.