REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has issued a regulation establishing a Peatland Restoration Agency as part of the efforts to prevent peat land fires in the future.

Forestry and Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya said here on Wednesday that the agency has been established in accordance with Presidential Regulation No. 1.2016, dated January 6, 2016.

"It (the peatland restoration agency) will largely deal with the management of ecological landscape related to peatland. The peatland must be saved and must not be set afire," she said after inducting echelon II officials at the ministry.

She said the agency will be tasked with keeping the peatland free from fires.

The restoration of peatland will become the center of global attention as it will cover 2-3 million hectares, she said, adding that no single country in the world has restored peatland on a large scale.

Besides peatland restoration, the management of peatland use will also draw the attention of the world community, particularly since it involves the ways in which it is accomplished and the issue of carbon emissions.

She said peatland restoration will involve various agencies, including the Forestry and Environment Ministry, the Public Works and housing Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry, the Agrarian and Spatial Layout Ministry and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

Following the issuance of the presidential regulation, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry will establish a Peatland Restoration Agency for land conservation and fire prevention.

The Secretary General of the Ministry, Bambang Handroyono, said in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Tuesday that a similar agency will also be established at the provincial level.

"At the national level, the restoration agency will be coordinated by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, while at the local level, it will be under the coordination of the governor," he said.

Indonesia's peatland area is estimated at 20.6 million hectares, or about 10.8 percent of Indonesia's total land area. Of this, approximately 7.2 million hectare, or 35 percent, is located in Sumatra island.

Peatland serves to preserve water resources, mitigate flooding, prevent sea water intrusion, support biodiversity, and control the climate through carbon absorption and storage.

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