Is Indonesian Peatland Loss a Cautionary Tale for Peru? A Two-Country Comparison of the Magnitude and Causes of Tropical Peatland Degradation

Peatlands are globally important for the diversity of ecosystem services they provide, not least of which is their ability to take up large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) and convert it to organically bound forms that are stabilized by the anoxic conditions caused by high water tables, and hence have the potential to mitigate climate change.

Indonesia and Peru harbor some of the largest lowland tropical peatland areas. Indonesian peatlands are subject to much greater anthropogenic activity than Peru’s, including drainage, logging, agricultural conversion, and burning, resulting in high greenhouse gas and particulate emissions. To derive insights from the Indonesian experience, the authors of this article explored patterns of impact in the two countries, and compared their predisposing factors. Impacts differ greatly among Indonesian regions and the Peruvian Amazon in the following order: Sumatra > Kalimantan > Papua > Peru. All impacts, except fire, are positively related to population density. Factors enhancing Indonesian peatlands’ susceptibility to disturbance include peat doming that facilitates drainage, coastal location, high local population, road access, government policies permitting peatland use, lack of enforcement of protections, and dry seasons that favor extensive burning.

The main factors that could reduce peatland degradation in Peru compared with Indonesia are geographic isolation from coastal population centers, more compact peatland geomorphology, lower population and road density, more peatlands in protected areas, different land tenure policies, and different climatic drivers of fire; whereas factors that could enhance peatland degradation include oil and gas development, road expansion in peatland areas, and an absence of government policies explicitly protecting peatlands.

The authors conclude that current peatland integrity in Peru arises from a confluence of factors that has slowed development, with no absolute barriers protecting Peruvian peatlands from a similar fate to Indonesia’s. If the goal is to maintain the integrity of Peruvian peatlands, government policies recognizing unique peatland functions and sensitivities will be necessary.