Peatlands policy needs to be carried and upscaled to the next regime
Peatland protection and restoration seem to be one of the most important environmental themes of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo regime, especially following the 2015 forest fire. However, with the election less than a month, we need to make sure that the important and critical work around peatland is carried forward and upscaled. As we know, the massive forest and land fires of 2015 that paralyzed important cities in the region and led to health concerns, awakened the government to the importance of peatland restoration and protection. In response to the fires, Jokowi has since rolled out various measures to protect the carbon-rich peat forests. One of these measures was the establishment of the peatland restoration agency, known as BRG. The agency led the nationwide efforts to restore degraded peat forests. Jokowi also announced a moratorium on the draining of peat swamps, issued an anti-haze regulation, and asked companies to conserve peat areas within their concessions. In 2016, thi