Firefighters exstinguish a peatland fire in Pekanbaru, Riau province, on Feb 1, 2018. (Source: AFP) Jakarta (VNA) – Singapore’s efforts to restore itspeatlands destroyed by fire can serve as an example for other countries facingsimilar issues, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Erik Solheimhas stated.
Praising Indonesia for its success in peatland governance,Solheim said that the international community is paying close attention to howIndonesia manages its more than 15 million ha of peatland, one of the largestareas in the world.
Forest fires on peatlands in Sumatra and Kalimantan in 2015led to trans-boundary haze that blanketed the region and resulted in record airpollution levels across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore for months that year.
Since then, Indonesia has managed to limit the amount ofland burned and prevented a repeat of the 2015 crisis.
President Joko Widodo has also made the issue of illegalforest fires and peatland management in his country a national priority.
He established the Peatland Restoration Agency in 2016,helmed by former conservation director at WWF-Indonesia Nazir Foead, whose aimis to restore damaged peatland on companies' concessions and government land.
Peatlands are carbon-rich and highly flammable during thedry season, and release high levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere whenburned.-VNA
VNA
