Indonesia – Korea Restoration of HLG Londerang from Burnt Land to Green Land

Acting Director of Peat Ecosystem Destruction Control, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, CH. Nety Widayati, together with 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, conducted a field visit in the context of monitoring the Burnt Peatland Restoration Project in the Londerang Peat Protection Forest (HLG), Jambi Province, which has successfully converted the burned area into green land, on Wednesday (06/12).

The project, which has been implemented since 2021, has four main activities, namely: rewetting, rewetting peatlands through the construction of canal blocks; revitalization of communities around the project site, construction of a mini education center; and vegetation, replanting burnt peatlands.

Nety Widawati revealed that revegetation activities covering an area of around 200 ha used native species found in the Londerang HLG area including jelutung, gelam and pulai. With intensive maintenance involving the surrounding community, based on the results of monitoring in October, the growth rate of revegetation plants reached 92%.

“Hopefully, this peat restoration project can educate and empower communities around the area to be able to contribute actively in preserving peatland ecosystems and preventing forest and land fires,” said CH. Netty Widayati when reviewing the Peatland Restoration Project where the Directorate of Peat Ecosystem Destruction Control, Directorate General of Pollution and Environmental Degradation Control, MoEF as the executing agency.

The Korea-Indonesia Forest Cooperation Center (KIFC) in 2024 will continue the maintenance of the revegetation results, as a form of commitment from the Indonesian and Korean governments in maintaining the sustainability of the peat ecosystem in HLG Londerang.

“Peat restoration in HLG Londerang is an important future investment for Indonesia and South Korea,” said Lee Yong Gwon during a field visit to review the results of revegetation plants, which is one of the main activities of the project, to ensure the plants grow optimally.

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 (MoEF) 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).(*)