Inauguration of “Kenali Peatland Education Center”, a Manifestation of Indonesia – Korea’s Commitment to Preserve Peat Ecosystems

The “Kenali Peatland Education Center” in the Kenali Pine Forest Area, Jambi City, was officially opened on Thursday, December 07, 2023. The inauguration ceremony was attended by representatives of Indonesia and Korea, including CH. Nety Widayati, as Acting (PLT) Director of Peat Ecosystem Damage Control, Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), as well as Lee Yong Gwon, Deputy Director General of Global Forest Resources Division, Korea Forest Service (KFS) and his team members; Jung Woon Gwon (Policy Officer) and Jung Eun Hyun, Governor of Jambi Province, representatives of the Jambi Provincial Forestry Service, Jambi Provincial Environment Service, as well as the Head of East Tanjung Jabung FMU and Head of Muaro Jambi FMU.

The development of this education center is based on the importance of awareness about the existence and function of peat ecosystems to the community in addition to the many technical efforts that have been carried out so far. Efforts to educate the role of forests and peatlands, both to communities that are in direct or indirect contact with peat ecosystems, really need to be carried out from an early age. The education is more about emphasizing the importance of maintaining and improving the function of peat ecosystems in a sustainable manner, related to their role in creating a global environmental balance, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and absorbing and storing carbon.

“This facility is expected to serve as a means of education and information about peat ecosystems including various kinds of protection and management activities that are expected to increase understanding and concern for environmental sustainability for everyone, especially the younger generation in Jambi,” said CH. Nety Widayati,

“Kenali Peatland Education Center” consists of two main buildings, namely a hall with a size of 10 m x 15 m, and an exhibition room and office with a size of 5 m x 8 m. The building was built using a combination of Korean and Jambi cultural architectural concepts. The construction uses a combination of Korean and Jambi cultural architectural concepts. The roof frame of the hall or pavilion uses conventional steel material while the exhibition hall and office buildings use mild steel. Mild steel was chosen as the roof structure to avoid termites. While the roofing material was chosen using sand-coated metal material to reduce the sound of rainwater blows.

“The construction of this education center is a form of commitment from the Korean and Indonesian governments in maintaining the sustainability of the peat ecosystem in HLG Londerang,” said Lee Yong Gwon, during the inauguration ceremony.

One of the ongoing Indonesia-Korea projects is the Restoration of Burnt Peatland Project with the Directorate of Peat Ecosystem Damage Control, Directorate General of Pollution Control and Environmental Damage as the executing agency. The project, which has been implemented since 2021, has four main activities, one of which is the construction of an education center for the community.

Cooperation in the forestry sector between the Government of Korea and the Government of Indonesia, which has been established since 1973, became the background for the establishment of the Korea-Indonesia Forest Cooperation Center (KIFC) in 2010. Through KIFC, communication between the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) and Korea Forest Service (KFS) becomes more effective, especially in the aspect of program implementation. Some of the successful programs include Sentul Eco-Edu TourismForest (SEETF) in Bogor (2011-2013), Korea-Indonesia Joint REDD+ Project “Tasik Besar Sarkap” Forest management Unit in Riau Province (2013-2016), and Development of Wood Biomass Pilot Plantation Project in Semarang, Central Java (2013-2022).(*)