Why do we need to know about peatlands and their role in climate change? It turns out that peatlands store more soil carbon than all the world's forests. Protecting and restoring these ecosystems is crucial not only for climate regulation but also for reducing the risk of floods and fires exacerbated by climate change.
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Indonesia's tropical peatlands cover 13.4 million hectares. However, nearly half of this tropical peatland area has been degraded by canal construction, logging, conversion to agricultural land, and fires. If maintained at this level, it is estimated that they could store up to 57 gigatons of carbon, or 55 percent of the world's total tropical peatland carbon.
Nisa Novita, Senior Manager of Forestry Carbon and Climate at Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN), is a scientist who dedicates her time and expertise to understanding how peatlands, as part of natural climate solutions, can mitigate climate change. She believes it's necessary to quantify the impact of rewetting and revegetation on degraded peatlands and on emission reductions. Research conducted by Nisa and her team found that constructing canal barriers in locations that are properly managed in the oil palm plantations can reduce emissions by up to 30% compared to business as usual. This makes peat restoration through water management an effective Natural Climate Solution strategy with high potential for national emissions reduction.
Besides that, through the Peatland Conservation Program, Nisa and her team have conducted biweekly soil and water GHG measurements in West Kalimantan from different land covers, including smallholder palm oil plantations, agriculture, secondary forests, and unmanaged shrubland since 2022. They also measured one-year GHG emissions in the undrained peat swamp ecosystem in East Kalimantan. They applied similar methods from West Kalimantan to collect ground evidence on GHG emissions in the post-logged forest and more pristine areas where little data is available.
Their radiocarbon study will enable them to construct a comprehensive synthesis of the long-term dynamics of peatland accumulation rates across the entirety of Kalimantan. This synthesis holds paramount importance in elucidating the function of tropical peatlands as crucial carbon sinks in the global carbon cycle. They collected data from West Kalimantan (Upper Kapuas River, the lower Kapuas River, Mempawah) and Muara Siran, East Kalimantan Province.
The complete research document can be downloaded at
Peatland inception and development across Kalimantan, Indonesia, is the latest research in 2025. The research conducted by Nisa and her colleagues is one of the strategies of YKAN's Peatland Conservation program to support the 2030 goals.
Based on the knowledge gained from their research, Nisa was invited by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to share their findings and compare them with the TNC program in North Carolina, USA. The full story of this knowledge sharing can be found at: Global Lessons from NC's Peatlands | The Nature Conservancy
Over the last few years, more science has been done to show the extent of existing peatlands and where protecting and restoring them would be most impactful. Thanks to this growing body of knowledge, there is more momentum than ever for governments and communities to protect and restore these critical ecosystems.
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