Pantau Gambut Jambi Regional Consultation: "Strengthen Monitoring Through Joint Advocacy"
By Angga SeptiaRegional consultation involving local community organizations is one of the methods used by the Simpul Jaringan Pantau Gambut Riau to disseminate analysis results and findings on the peatland restoration program in this province in 2018. Moreover, this activity aims to build synergy between the parties in monitoring peatland restoration in Riau in the future.
This regional consultation was held on 17 January 2019, where the Simpul Jaringan Pantau Gambut Riau presented the activities and analysis that had been carried out last year. Throughout 2018, they had carried out several activities, including field analysis and monitoring:
In these activities, the Simpul Jaringan Pantau Gambut Riau underlined some important field findings that must be taken into account and resolved immediately. First, BRG’s restoration activities in Guntung Village were planned to include building 5 canal blocks and 16 drilled wells. However, based on Simpul Jaringan’s monitoring, there were no constructions of canal blocks and drilled wells.
Moreover, the Simpul Jaringan Riau overlaid the map of PT. Meskom Agro Sarimas’ right to cultivate (HGU) with Peat Hydrological Unit (KHG) and satellite images, and found the addition of the company's oil palm plantation management area in Bengkalis District. Based on these findings, the Simpul Jaringan Riau concluded that the Regional and City Governments should play a greater role in handling the issue of management permit and the addition of oil palm plantation area on peatlands, especially in the outer islands of Indonesia.
The following is a video documentation of the 2018 Aim for Riau Peatland Restoration event.
After the consultation, the participants hoped for an efficient restoration for the peatland communities. This regional consultation saw the need for: