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Catastrophic fire events in the last decade have led to policy changes regarding the permitted use of fire in cropping systems in Indonesia. This has led to a multi-stakeholder approach to fire management in the extensive peatland systems of Sumatra and Kalimantan. This study seeks to identify key stakeholders and to map and identify their roles in peat fire management at the village level. Two case study villages were used: Kayu Labu in South Sumatra and Tumbang Nusa in Central Kalimantan. The study was conducted using a Responsible-Accountable-Consulted-Informed (RACI) matrix. Data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion (FGD) in each village. Our findings showed that the Village Head was the key actor in fire management at the village level. The other stakeholders had shared roles in a largely collaborative process that included the provision of additional funding for resources and training. However, stakeholder engagement in the restoration of burnt peatland was limited, and the engagement of villagers in fire prevention and control was compromised by the threat of sanctions associated with the prohibition of burning. The findings suggest that policy commitments need to be revised in a way that ensures better engagement between external stakeholders and villagers, and focuses on the need to protect livelihoods.

Indonesia is committed to rewetting peatlands to reduce the risk of fires and to decrease national greenhouse gas emissions. The three main approaches currently being implemented for rewetting peatlands in Indonesia are: 1) installing dams in drainage canals - “canal blocking”; 2) filling in drainage canals - “backfilling”; and 3) drilling wells to access water to fight fires - “deep wells”. Tumbang Nusa in Central Kalimantan was chosen in 2020 as a pilot village to trial fire management through rewetting, although some engineering and logistical questions remain. Peatland rewetting is a complex process, and it is essential to determine public support as well as the potential for communities to live and work with rewet peat landscapes. Community attitudes to rewetting and their involvement in the process are not well understood. This article reports on 20 interviews conducted with villagers in Tumbang Nusa about their perceptions of rewetting. It identifies that the general attitude to rewetting is positive, but there is confusion and a lack of involvement with regard to where deep wells have been drilled and where canal blocks are located, as well as how they work and can be used. Villagers are concerned about their livelihoods and the impacts of fire. To support communities where rewetting will occur, careful management of the physical processes is needed, but even more important is the need for greater involvement of local communities in actively developing possibilities for their own futures on rewet peat.

In this article we propose and apply a methodology for collaboratively creating and reaching agreement over a shared vision for peatland restoration. The purpose is to identify a shared understanding of the various parts of a just, inclusive and sustainable restored peatland as well as productive tensions between and across divergent disciplinary domains focused on peatland restoration. We involved an interdisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners working on various aspects of tropical peatland restoration and management in Indonesia, where there is a recognised need for clearer goals and/or definitions of restoration outcomes to focus manifold stakeholder efforts. To increase opportunities for participation and interaction between participants, our methodology built on and adapted a well-established Delphi survey method by combining it with focus group discussions. This allowed multiple points of view to be considered and new knowledge to emerge. The vision produced through this process bridges across different disciplinary tensions to fulfil ecological and social outcomes. While the vision is specific to the complex political economic and socio-ecological context of Indonesia’s tropical peatland, the phased methodology for collaborative visioning can be adapted for application to other social ecological challenges, or to guide planning and practice by other stakeholder groups aiming to articulate a desired future state.

In recent years, widespread peatland degradation has occurred in Indonesia as a result of both natural events and human activities. Although there is a strong push for restoration from national and international stakeholders, at the local level, farmers and communities are still widely managing peatlands with unsustainable practices including their conversion into agricultural land. To understand the causes of such a challenging situation, we carried out a survey to investigate the drivers of local livelihoods in the typical peatland village community of Kayu Labu in South Sumatra Province. Our findings showed that while the unsustainable practices adopted do not align with either the long-term interests of this community or the wider public interest, they do align with the best socioeconomic interests of the farmers. A preliminary examination of the livelihood options chosen illustrates the strong contrast between public and private interests. In particular, in local communities like Kayu Labu, the profit margins for oil palm and rubber are higher than those for sustainable alternatives. We conclude that, to address the problem of peatland degradation and to design successful and sustainable peatland restoration initiatives, decision-makers need to understand the local socioeconomic situation, people’s livelihoods, and their expectations. A key option is to increase the roles and responsibilities of local communities in determining the rules that relate to land management. Only then are regulatory and policy interventions likely to improve peatland conservation and restoration outcomes.