No abstract

Biomass fires in Indonesia emit high levels of greenhouse gases and particulate matter, key contributors to global climate change and poor air quality in southeast Asia. In order to better understand the drivers of biomass fires across Indonesia over multiple years, we examined the distribution and probability of fires in Sumatra, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) and Papua (western New Guinea) over four entire calendar years (2002, 2005, 2011 and 2015). The 4 years of data represent years with El Niño and La Niña conditions and high levels of data availability in the study region. Generalised linear mixed-effects models and zero-inflated negative binomial models were used to relate fire hotspots and a range of spatial predictor data. Geographic differences in occurrences of fire hotspots were evident. Fire probability was greatest in mixedproduction agriculture lands and in deeper, degraded peatlands, suggesting anthropogenic activities were strong determinants of burning. Drought conditions in El Niño years were also significant. The results demonstrate the importance of prioritising areas of high fire probability, based on land use and other predisposing conditions, in effective fire management planning.

Accounting for the myriad of ways that local communities relate to peatlands is increasingly recognized as a factor for long-term restoration success. One way of doing so is through understanding how peatlands are represented by local communities using a social representation framework comprising perceived peatland benefits and functions, beliefs about their characteristics, perceived human-peatland relationships, and appropriate management pathways. In turn, these representations influence individual interpretation of peatland restoration outcomes and, to a lesser degree, engagement with revegetation activities. We conducted 55 semi-structured interviews with three communities living in and around peatlands in Bengkalis, Riau, Indonesia. We show that, among those interviewed, peatlands had various and divergent representations. Each representation reflected its own social-ecological relationship with, and valuation of, peatlands, and individual and shared experiences. For example, peatlands were primarily valued for their production purposes, but were also represented as degraded lands and areas important for climate change mitigation. The different representations were not mutually exclusive; on occasion, the same interviewee expressed several different representations. Moreover, some representations were shared among geographically dispersed participants, reflecting common experiences of peatland management. Overall, the results reaffirm the need to account for local representations of the environment in the management of tropical peatland, and notably in the setting of restoration goals.

Ecosystem restoration is increasingly employed as a nature-based solution to a range of crises. Decisions over restoration must balance limited resources, land constraints, and competing demands. Peatlands in Southeast Asia have been heavily impacted by agricultural expansion over the past three decades, with Indonesia now accounting for a substantial proportion of degraded tropical peatlands globally. Using spatial linear programming, we focus on prioritizing peatland restoration sites in Indonesia for fire risk reduction, climate change mitigation, species conservation, and cost-effectiveness. The study finds that restoring peatlands at 1 km2 planning units can generate multiple co-benefits such as reduced fire risks by 6–37%, attenuated extinction risks of peatland specialist bird species and mitigated climate change potential of 0.002–0.36 Pg CO2e yr-1. These benefits were reduced but still of comparable magnitude when larger areas of planning (defined by village and catchment boundaries) were used. The results, although indicative, support tropical peatland restoration as a cost-efficient strategy for mitigating climate change, reducing fire, conserving biodiversity, and supporting sustainable development that can be offset by carbon prices of USD 2–37/Mg CO2e.

Biomass fires in Indonesia emit high levels of greenhouse gases and particulate matter, key contributors to global climate change and poor air quality in south-east Asia. In order to better understand the drivers of biomass fires across Indonesia over multiple years, we examined the distribution and probability of fires in Sumatra, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) and Papua (western New Guinea) over four entire calendar years (2002, 2005, 2011 and 2015). The 4 years of data represent years with El Niño and La Niña conditions and high levels of data availability in the study region. Generalised linear mixed-effects models and zero-inflated negative binomial models were used to relate fire hotspots and a range of spatial predictor data. Geographic differences in occurrences of fire hotspots were evident. Fire probability was greatest in mixed-production agriculture lands and in deeper, degraded peatlands, suggesting anthropogenic activities were strong determinants of burning. Drought conditions in El Niño years were also significant. The results demonstrate the importance of prioritising areas of high fire probability, based on land use and other predisposing conditions, in effective fire management planning.