Land Use Change and The Involvement of Local Community in Sustainable Peatland Management on West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Keywords: Peatland, land use, community peatland management, domestic migration, West Kalimantan, Indonesia
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 12

Abstract

The peatland ecosystem in Kalimantan has been threatened by various human activities, including oil palm plantation expansion, oil palm smallholders expansion, and the domestic migration program by the government. It changes land use and land tenure thus influencing how peatland was managed by the community. The research aims to understand and spatially map the different land and property relations on West Kalimantan peatland by identifying land-based livelihood, different actors’ intervention, and the sustainability of peatland management by the community. We compared four sub-villages in Kubu Raya Regency of West Kalimantan: two sub-villages without domestic migration (Kuala Jaya and Harapan Baru) and two sub-villages with domestic migration program (Mutiara Jaya and Setia Jaya). Using a mixed-method research design, we interview the locals and analyze the combination of the spatial and qualitative data from various sources: concession plan, local government spatial plans, national government spatial and development plans, land administration agency tenure, and local community perception and utilization of the land. The results show that the peatland conversion to oil palm is faster in and around plantation and transmigration sites. The local communities are also beginning to convert their land from rubber or timber to oil palm. The research also found that from external influences, the villagers found ways for more sustainable peatland clearance techniques without fire by stack and burn, stack and chemically rot the wood debris, or hire locally-owned heavy machinery to clear the peatland. The villagers also develop multiple sources of alternative livelihood on peatland.