Capacity building for sustainable management of peatlands in the humid tropics : from research to application
2007
M. Murtedza | Ritzema, H. | W.H. Wan Sulaiman | Page, S.
About one quarter of the world`s tropical peatlands (11 million hectares occur in Borneo. These peatlands have global ecological significance, being some of the largest remaining areas of lowland rainforest in SE Asia that provide the habitat of many endangered species. In addition, they are large stores of carbon and water and have an important regional economic role, providing forest products and land for settlement and agricultural development (Rieley et al, 2001). Utilisation of this resource for agriculture or plantation crops requires drainage that, unavoidably, leads to irreversible loss of peat through subsidence, resulting in severe disturbance of the substrate and creating problems for cultivation and peoples` livelihoods. If the specific characteristics of peatlands are taken into consideration, these peatlands can be managed in a sustainable way to ensure a sufficient and continuous supply of raw materials and agricultural products and to maintain biodiversity and environmental conservation, see e.g. the development in Western Johore and Sarawak in Malaysia. If, however, the specific characteristics are not taken into consideration, the results can be destructive, as can be sadly demonstrated by the failure of the Mega Rice Project in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia (see e.g. Rieley and Page, 2005).
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