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A new study says that restoring Indonesian peatlands is a cost-effective strategy for reducing the impacts of fires on the environment.
The analysis shows that the benefits of effective Indonesian peatland restoration will outweigh the cost of restoration, and that there is evidence to support ongoing peatland restoration efforts in Indonesia.
2.5 million hectares of degraded peatland will be restored by the Indonesian government, with a projected cost of US$3.2-7 billion.
The study used satellite data and models to estimate that peatland restoration could have resulted in economic savings of US$8.4 billion.
The fires in Indonesia in 2015, the largest in recent years, resulted in economic losses of US$28 billion, while the six largest fire events between 2004 and 2015 caused a total of US$93.9 billion in economic losses.
The study states that if restoration had been completed, the area burned in 2015 would have been reduced by six percent, CO2 emissions would have been reduced by 18%, and fine particulate matter would have been prevented from entering the lungs.
The Indonesian government's commitment to restore degraded peatlands is an important and cost-effective strategy to reduce the harm caused by peatland fires.
Laura was a researcher in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds. She is at the University of California.
She said that there are many benefits of peatland restoration, from local reductions in property loss, to regional benefits to air quality and public health.
peatland fires cause large CO2 emissions and destroy agricultural land and disrupt transport. In 1997– 2016 fires in Indonesia were responsible for 8% of global fire carbon emissions.
Roughly 45% of the world's tropical peatland carbon is stored in Indonesia. There is a benefit to restoring and protecting Indonesian peatlands.
Indonesian peatlands have rarely experienced fire. Due to the destruction of Indonesian peatlands, they are more susceptible to fire. There are large fires in Indonesia.
Fires that are lit to clear land can burn out of control and spread into degraded forests and peatlands.
The study shows the importance of the amount of land restored. It states that restoration should be focused on areas that have been most prone to fires in the past.
Fires are more likely to occur on degraded land than in protected areas of forest, and drainage canals can make fires nearly 5 times as likely. Peatlands can be restored by blocking drainage canals and planting trees.
Landowners use fire to clear land because it is easier and cheaper than other methods. The study found that the economic losses caused by damage to agriculture were US$23 billion over the six years. This is more expensive than using fire and other land clearance options.
The Peatland Restoration Agency was established in 2016 to restore and re-wet 2.49 million hectares of degraded peatland, after a moratorium on new land conversion on the island was brought into effect in 2011.
The author of the study said that monitoring is needed to assess whether the restoration efforts are successful. Local support of peatland restoration and fire reduction schemes is a key factor in their success.
Climate change will make Indonesian peatlands more at risk to further degradation and fire. The Indonesian government's efforts to restore their peatlands could be a leading example in the future.
Assessing costs of Indonesian fires and the benefits of restoring peatland is more information. There is a DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27353-x.
Nature Communications is a journal.
Efforts to restore Indonesian peatlands could save billions in wildfire costs.
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