Tag: Aceh

On 26-27 January 2022, Peatland Restoration Directorate of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (DPKG-KLHK), Environment and Forestry Agency (DLHK) Aceh, and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) organised a hybrid meeting in Banda Aceh to present the results of baseline studies to the national, provincial and district partners. The presentations were also followed by Focus Group Discussions guided by peatland experts: Dr. Marinus K Harun, from BPSILHK Banjar Baru; and Dr. Yusya Abubakar, from Syiah Kuala University Aceh.

At the meeting, participants discussed on how to achieve sustainable peatland management while maximising livelihood opportunities for the ten priority peatland communities, taking into account the commodities currently exploited by the peat communities and the existing peatland site conditions. Two important aspects that need attention when planning for pilot site future interventions are fire and flooding events. The event was closed with a brief presentation by Sustainable Use of Peatland and Haze Mitigation in ASEAN (SUPA) Component 1 on the workplan for the next six months, based on the already agreed general workplan. 

SUPA Component 1, particularly under Work Area 3, aims to generate pilot experiences from Indonesia and Malaysia. The pilot projects aspire to demonstrate how a peatland, within the landscape or peatland hydrological unit, can be restored and/or rehabilitated through sustainable peatland management options. The best practices drawn from the pilot sites will be able to be adopted by others—not limited to Indonesia and Malaysia but to the entire ASEAN region.

As part of the implementation of Work Area 3, SUPA Component 1 will support technical guidance, monitor project’s progress, and technical recommendation on the activities. Last year, SUPA Component 1 carried out a series of baseline studies on the pilot site area in order to best plan for the interventions at the PHU site. The baseline studies included: land cover, land use change and burn scar mapping, socio-economic vulnerability assessment and an assessment of fire situation in the pilot site. 

On the way forward, SUPA Component 1 will hold a Pilot Site Steering Committee Meeting to discuss the workshop results and approval for the pilot site workplan. SUPA Component 1 will also organise workshops with the villages and do a comparative study to another place with experience on sustainable peatland management.

As a follow up to the signing of the agreed minutes for technical cooperation on Sustainable Use of Peatland and Haze Mitigation in ASEAN (SUPA) Component 1 on 25 May 2021, GIZ and Environment and Forestry Office of Aceh Province held the launching of SUPA Pilot Site in Aceh, Indonesia on 15 June 2021. This launching is the opening of a series of events related to SUPA Pilot Site in Aceh.

The virtual ceremony was attended by Sri Parwati Murwani Budisusanti, Director of Peatland Degradation Control; Anizar, MP, Secretary of Environment and Forestry Office of Aceh Province, and other relevant stakeholders. 

Reading the opening remarks of Head of Environment and Forestry Office of Aceh Province, Anizar shared some of the efforts that Aceh Province has done in peatland conservation. “Government of Aceh Province through the Environment and Forestry Office hopes that this SUPA programme will run smoothly and all the programme’s objectives can be achieved as planned.”

On 16-17 June 2021, a focus group discussion workshop was held to develop SUPA Pilot Site Work Plan. The workshop was attended by relevant stakeholders from Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Environment and Forestry Office of Aceh Province, NGOs, academics, and private sectors. The workshop generated valuable inputs and feedbacks from stakeholders that will be incorporated in the SUPA Pilot Site Work Plan.

The last meeting in this series of events is the preliminary meeting to prepare the 1^st Project Steering Committee of SUPA Pilot Site in Aceh, Indonesia. With guidance from Ministry of Environment and Forestry and Environment and Forestry Office of Aceh Province, SUPA Component 1 will organize the 1^st Project Steering Committee of SUPA Pilot Site in Aceh in due course.

GIZ and Ministry of Environment and Forestry of The Republic of Indonesia (MoEF) signed the agreed minutes for technical cooperation on Sustainable Use of Peatland and Haze Mitigation in ASEAN (SUPA) Component 1 on 25 May 2021. The signed agreed minutes is specific for Work Area 3: Generating Pilot Experiences in Aceh, Indonesia.

The virtual ceremony was attended by Sri Parwati Murwani Budisusanti, Director of Peatland Degradation Control; Warthane Puvanarajah, First Secretary, Climate and Environment at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Jakarta; A. Hanan, Head of Environment and Forestry Office of Aceh Province, and other relevant stakeholders. 

Reading the opening remarks of Director General of Pollution and Environmental Damage Control, SPM Budi Susanti said that the cooperation between Peatland Degradation Control Directorate and GIZ is warmly welcomed. “We hope that the cooperation in Aceh Barat and Nagan Raya district in Aceh province can realize the sustainable peatland ecosystem by implementing activities that support the targets and obligations of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in the field of peat protection.”

“The results we achieve on the ground should primarily benefit the partners at the local level. But it is also important that we create good examples and best practices that can be adopted by others—not limited to Indonesia but to the entire ASEAN region,” said Berthold Haasler Principal Advisor of SUPA Component 1.

As a result of a thorough discussion and a list of criteria, the Indonesian government decided that the Aceh province with Nagan Raya and Aceh Barat districts should become the pilot area of SUPA Component 1 in Indonesia. This agreement will officially start the implementation of Work Area 3 in Indonesia.