Regulation No. 17/MENLHK/SETJEN/KUM.1/2/2017 amends Regulation No. 12/MENLHK/2015 on Industrial Plantation Forest Development. It delegates responsibility for restoration in devastated peatland areas and designates protected peatland areas in Forest Timber Product Exploitation Permit in Industrial Plantation Forest (IUPHHK-HTI) concessions.
This regulation reflects an improvement in peatland ecosystem governance in HTI areas. It emphasizes that HTI holders in peatlands must revise their RKU. If peatlands in their concession area have not been planted, they must be maintained as protected zones. If the main plantation area is designated for cultivation, cultivation can continue as long as the land’s hydrological function is maintained (including the 40 cm water level). If peatlands designated as protected has been planted with crops, they may carry out one harvest. Then, the plants must be replaced with native vegetation in protected peatland areas.