Revitalization – putting people at the center

Revitalization focuses on strengthening the role and resilience of communities living around peatland areas. In peatland restoration, ecological recovery is more likely to last when local communities also have the knowledge, organization, and livelihood options needed to manage the landscape sustainably. An important part of this process is building trust and stronger sense of connection between communities and the surrounding forest landscape, so that livelihood benefits and peatland protection can support each other over the long term. This makes community participation an important complement to rewetting and revegetation.

At HLG Londerang, ten villages joined the Self-Reliant Peat Care Village program (DMPG): Teluk Dawan, Jati Mulyo, Kota Kandis Dendang, Parit Culum I, and Rawasari in Tanjung Jabung Timur; and Manis Mato, Rukam, Londerang, Rondang, and Rantau Panjang in Muaro Jambi.

Forty-five candidates were interviewed, and twenty village facilitators were selected and trained by Universitas Jambi (UNJA) in December 2021. Each village then formed its own peat protection and management working team, carried out a participatory needs assessment, and developed a community work plan based on local priorities.

The livelihood activities selected by the villages included:

• Fisheries: biofloc tanks, floating cages, and ponds.

• Livestock: goats and chickens.

• Farming: bananas, betel nut, pineapple.

• Food processing: banana chips, ginger powder, baked goods.

• Crafts: coconut shell products.

These activities were intended to turn community plans into practical livelihood opportunities. The examples above show how revitalization was implemented on the ground, including goat-farming development supported by the village facilitator in Manis Mato and Parit Culum I, and Keramba Apung (floating-cage fisheries) in Rantau Panjang. Beyond providing economic opportunities, these activities also helped strengthen community participation in the wider peatland restoration effort.

Some livelihood activities in Rukam and Rawasari were later affected by flooding, providing an important lesson for designing community enterprises that are better adapted to flood-prone peatland environments.