Jakarta (Greeners) – Peatland Restoration Agency and South Sumatra provincial administration signed an agreement to develop, plan, and restore in five districts of South Sumatra with a total 848,325 hectares between 2016 and 2020, in Jakarta on Wednesday (5/7).
Nazir Foead, head of the agency, said nine points in the MoU will ensure peats restoration in South Sumatra to be implemented and well coordinated. The nine points include coordination and planning, mapping peats hydrology, infrastructure construction, re-wetting peats and its facilities.
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Then, managing burned peats, socialization and education, supervise in the construction, operation and maintenance in concession lands, research and development, and monitoring on restoration.
“Memorandum of Understanding accelerates peats restoration in seven provinces, starting from South Sumatra,” said Foead.
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Furthermore, the agency has conducted approach and thorough planning for each Peatland Hydrology Ecosystem, divided into Peatland Restoration Lands. The aim is to ensure justice principle in waster balance, shared responsibility and knowledge. In addition, the agency had mapped out Peatlands Restoration Management Unit.
“To speed up restorations, [the agency] will set up other MoUs with remaining six provinces which are our working priorities,” he said.
South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin said the MoU will bring benefits to restore the province’s land condition which was ravaged by fires in 2015 and burned down hundreds of thousands hectares.
The state budget and regional budget, Noerdin added, would not be enough to restore those burned lands.
“Support from donors to investors is needed,” he said adding the MoU will strengthen restoration efforts.
Reports by Danny Kosasih
21 Apr 2024 
