Role of actors in promoting sustainable peatland management in Kubu Raya Regency, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

3.1 Peatland management in West Kalimantan Province and Kubu Raya

Peatland is an essential resource because they have various potential uses. In West Kalimantan, peatlands are used for cultivating food crops, horticultural crops, annual crops such as rubber and oil palm, and forestry. Selamat River area in Siantan Hilir is a center for crop production horticulture, while the Siantan Hulu area is a center for aloe vera plant production. Plantation crops such as rubber and oil palm are cultivated in the Ambawang River area, Mempawah. Meanwhile, forestry plants (Gonystylus bancanus, Agathis, Shorea bealangeran) exist in 16 KHG [20]. On a small scale, inhabitants in Kalimantan’s peatland ecosystems produce rice paddies practising shifting cultivation combined with rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) agroforestry on mineral and shallow peat soil [32]. According to field observations, many crops grow well in peat soils in Kubu Raya Regency. Peat-based vegetable farming was found in Rasau Jaya, Pinang Luar, Jangkang, and Siantan Sub-districts [33].

Peatland in Rasau Jaya Village generally has a skinny peat layer; some of it even becomes bongkor soil, some of it even becomes bongkor soil, which is not easy to be planted. Although, some parts still contain up to 3 m of peat thickness, especially the newly occupied land or residential areas with terraced contours. According to farmers’ knowledge, not all plants are suitable for planting on peatland, so the farmers choose plant types adapted to the peat’s thickness. The selection of plant species that are considered suitable for land conditions was initially carried out by trial and error, then developed as a cropping pattern that aims to prevent a decrease in soil fertility, as a strategy for diversification in order to reduce risk and guarantee continuity of income throughout the year. At the beginning of peatland opening or on thick peatlands, farmers generally plant vegetables and secondary crops [20].

Aside from the more economic reason, burning land for the initial phase of land clearing activity is also believed to improve the soil fertility in West Kalimantan Province. However, the burnt layer of peat resulted in a decrease in peat thickness; it was about 3–5 cm every season, according to the interviews with the farmers. Reduced peat thickness will affect the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil and the carbon and hydrologic cycles [20]. Nevertheless, traditional peatland farmers already have indigenous knowledge in managing peatlands which heritages from their ancestors in West Kalimantan. They have utilized peatlands to accomplish their daily needs. The current peatland management practices can be considered as local wisdom of Kalimantan farmers [32,34], which has positive contribution to the policy formation related to peatland development [35].

3.2 Stakeholders in peatland management

The stakeholders identified comprise 13 institutions representing central government, local government, NGOs, community leaders, the private sector, and educational institutions. The main tasks of the institutions are presented in Table 2.

There were 13 stakeholders involved in managing peatland in Kubu Raya, namely 10 government agencies, 1 educational institution, 1 private institution, 1 community and community institution. Stakeholders in peatland management in Kubu Raya Regency vary according to management duties and orientation of management objectives such as management development and encouraging governance (government agencies, planning bodies, regional technical offices), ecology (NGOs, universities/research institutions, regional technical offices), and economy (private sector, community) (Table 2). The stakeholders’ levels of interest and influence are presented in Tables 3 and 4.

The results of the stakeholders’ interview presented in Table 3 show that the actor with the highest interest is the Wetland Ecosystem Management Unit (total score of 18), followed by the FMU and the Agriculture Service of Kubu Raya Regency (each total score is 17). The interest valuation is obtained from the level of involvement in peatland management (K1), the diversity and value of the benefits obtained (K2 and K4), human resource capacity (K3), and the level of independence (K5). The first two institutions showed the highest level of interest. The components that contributed to that score are the level of interest in involvement in peatland management, the diversity of benefits obtained, and the capacity of human resources. It is reasonable, related to the primary duties of the institution and the qualifications of human resources, which is a requirement in joining the institution.

Farmer groups/communities have a moderate level of interest, which indicates that although the community gets a high diversity and benefits valuation (score 5), the involvement and capacity of human resources is still low. This finding is the same as some previous research on peatland management in Riau [4] and in Central Kalimantan [31], which stated that the management of peatland is characterized by the interests of local actors (government and community). Learning and understanding of the interests of local communities by the government can be done to increase the capacity of the community/farmer groups so that the interest of this group will increase in the future [13,32].

The size of the influence of stakeholders on the management of peatland in Kubu Raya is evaluated from five aspects, namely, the ability to influence decisions (P1), authority (P2), amount of influence over time (P3), controllability (P4), and form of expertise (P5). The highest total value of the five parameters was obtained by the FMU of Kubu Raya (16), followed by the Wetland Ecosystem Management Unit (15). The FMU of Kubu Raya has a high degree of influence over long-term decision-making and controlling capabilities related to management in terms of licensing, human resources, financing, technology, and infrastructure. Meanwhile, the Wetland Ecosystem Management Unit strongly influences authority parameters, including security protection, infrastructure construction, community empowerment, licensing, and providing data and information.

The lowest influencing ability belonged to community groups or farmer groups (8). It is mainly due to the lack of authority and limitations in providing input under expertise in aspects of planning, security, research and development, fieldwork, and strengthening community groups. It should be a concern that although the interest of the community or farmer groups in peatland management is relatively moderate, if the effect is minimal, it will generally result in low participation or involvement by other stakeholders [13,32].

This research then mapped the actors involved in peatland management in Kubu Raya. Based on the method developed by Reed et al. [31], the values of interests (vertical axis in Figure 2 sourced from Table 3) and influences (horizontal axis in Figure 2 sourced from Table 4) ranged from 0 to 25. Critical values were determined at 12.5, which in Figure 2 is shown by a yellow line, which serves as a grouping boundary for all stakeholders involved in key players, subjects, context setters, and crowds according to the method used by Reed et al. [31].

Figure 2

The matrix of interests and influence of stakeholders on peatland management in Kubu Raya Regency. 1. FMU of Kubu Raya; 2. Forest concessionaire PT Ekosistem Khatulistiwa Lestari; 3. Wetland Ecosystem Management Unit; 4. Regional Development Planning Agency of Kubu Raya Regency; 5. Production FMU III in Pontianak; 6. Agriculture Service of Kubu Raya Regency; 7. Fire Brigade (Manggala Agni) Pontianak; 8. Farmer group/community; 9. SAMPAN (Non-Government Organization); 10. Extension worker; 11. Faculty of Forestry Tanjungpura University; 12. Forest Inventory and Mapping Unit; 13. Regional Forest Area Designation Agency III in Pontianak.

The matrix of interests and influence of stakeholders on peatland management in Kubu Raya Regency is presented in Figure 2.

Figure 2 shows the results of stakeholder mapping in this study, grouping four stakeholders in the key players’ group (stakeholders 1, 3, 4, and 6), two stakeholders in the subjects group (2 and 8), six stakeholders in the context setter group (5, 7, 9, 11, 12, and 13), and one stakeholder in the crowd group.

The matrix above (Figure 2) provided the conditions and situations when the research was conducted. However, as this matrix can change its type over time, these changes’ impact needs to be considered [31].

Four groups of stakeholders have resulted from stakeholder analysis in this study. First, the stakeholders that play the key role are FMU of Kubu Raya, the Wetland Ecosystem Management Unit, the Regional Development Planning Agency, and the Agriculture Service of Kubu Raya Regency. They have the primary role in program planning and implementation. Second, forest concessionaire PT Ekosistem Khatulistiwa Lestari and communities are classified as stakeholders in the subject role. They support peatland management programs in the field of implementation and supervision. Third, stakeholders grouped into context setters are the Production FMU VIII in Pontianak, the Fire Brigade, and Regional Forest Area Designation Agency III in Pontianak. They have roles in regional planning, regional supervision, and monitoring of fire hazards. The last stakeholder is the extension worker, categorized into crowds, which can empower and assist the community in managing peatland.

Key players have an essential role in managing peatland, from planning, rehabilitation, provision of infrastructure, and community empowerment. They have been given the mandate of peatland management in the state of local government affairs. Stakeholders in this quadrant have a large resource capacity in involvement, such as capable human resources, the ability to influence, and authority in implementing peatland management. The four stakeholders must play an active and mutually supportive role because they have the same interests in managing peatland, namely the balance of peat ecosystem functions and community welfare. In the neighboring province, it is found that certain actors claim value from peatland degradation while reducing value for others. An example is the case of the Mega Rice Project located in Central Kalimantan Province [36]. Other studies also stated that the peatland area could be a competing area for different state projects and actors [34,37].

Stakeholders included in the subject classification are farmer/community groups and forest concessionaire PT Ekosistem Khatulistiwa Lestari. Most of the transmigration communities in Kubu Raya Regency are placed in peatland locations that require more effort than in mineral soils. Farmer groups/communities that only have peatland and no mineral land are the most important stakeholders because they rely heavily on peatland management for their survival. However, the community has little influence because they do not have several preconditions to participate in peatland management planning activities, so it is only the recipient of the policy. The forest concessionaire PT Ekosistem Khatulistiwa Lestari is the next stakeholder who manages wetland ecosystems (peat). Both stakeholders need to manage peat because they have a high level of dependence on peatland management but have inadequate capacity for management, especially the community/farmer groups. Stakeholders in this group can be an influence if they form alliances with other stakeholders. A study has stated that numerous actors are involved in peatland management, so accommodating each actor’s interests is necessary [34]. There is an ongoing competition between actors in achieving their designed outcomes [12].

The context setter classification includes the Production FMU VIII in Pontianak, the Fire Brigade (Manggala Agni) Pontianak, Forest Inventory and Mapping Unit, and the Regional Forest Area Designation Agency III Pontianak. These four stakeholders are government agencies with high authority concerning peatland management policies. The other two stakeholders included in the context setter are NGOs (SAMPAN) and universities (Faculty of Forestry Untan), who can play a role and disseminating information, mentoring, and empowering the community. These stakeholders need to be asked for opinions, advice (consult), or just a notification of implementing a management activity primarily related to planning and execution in the field. The stakeholders in this group should have a collaboration agenda. The research [2] suggests that although a powerful state has the authority to shape peatland management, social movements impact local and regional landscapes.

While the stakeholders included in the crowd classification are extension agents, this institution still does not contribute an essential role in peatland management. The existence of these stakeholders can be ignored because they do not yet have a strong interest and influence in managing peat. However, since peat management activities are located in forest and non-forest areas (land owned), especially on land owned by extension agents who do not routinely assist the community, this institution exists. Stakeholders in this group can include decision-making because the influence and interests will change over time.

The critical value matrix and the influence of stakeholders can change their type over time, and the impact of these changes needs to be considered [31]. Besides that, it is also possible for the emergence of new stakeholders that have not been identified in this study, related to the social dynamics that continue to develop in the research location and time and energy constraints.

This mapping indicates potential relationships that might be built. The keywords used in describing these relationships are conflicting, complementary, and collaborating [31]. The potential for conflict between stakeholders may emerge due to overlapping activities or lack coordination [2,9,12,34,37].

The utilization of privately owned peatland often poses a peat or forest fire risk due to the peatland clearing by burning. The local communities used to burn their land. This method has been relatively safe because the peatland was always wet throughout the year in the past. However, recent land cover changes have made them more susceptible to fires than before. In addition, the canal draining system in peatland has resulted in extreme changes to the peat hydrological system [38]. The peat surface subsidence has increased their susceptibility to fire in dry seasons [39].

3.3 Potential conflicts and cooperation between stakeholders

Potential conflicts of interest occur between community groups and institutions tasked with controlling forest and land fires (Fire Brigade/Manggala Agni). The community states that the efforts of Manggala Agni are sometimes excessive in carrying out their duties and functions. So far, opening the land by burning is typical for the local community, especially for cost-effective reasons. The community has tried to ensure that land-clearing activity can be carried out carefully, even during the dry season. However, as the Supreme Court bans these activities, sometimes emergent tension still occurs secretly, avoiding the patrols provided by Manggala Agni, which somewhat causes frequent peatland fires in the dry season [22].

The potential for mutual filling occurs between Wetland Ecosystem Management Unit, FMU, Agriculture Service, Regional Development Planning Agency of Kubu Raya Regency, and Faculty of Forestry Untan, Regional Forest Area Designation Agency III, and Production FMU VIII. Therefore, institutions such as the FMU, the Wetland Ecosystem Management Unit, Regional Forest Area Designation Agency III, and Production FMU VIII can carry out their duties and functions in planning and implementing peatland management, especially in forest areas. At the same time, the Regional Development Planning Agency of Kubu Raya Regency and the Agriculture Service can increase community capacity in peatland management in non-forest areas (cultivation).

The potential for cooperation can be established among all stakeholders, especially between institutions providing information and disseminating information with community groups. For example, institutions such as the Regional Development Planning Agency of Kubu Raya Regency, Regional Forest Area Designation Agency III, Production Forest Management Unit VIII, Forest Inventory and Mapping Unit, Fire Brigade/Manggala Agni, the Agriculture Service of Kubu Raya, and Forest Management Unit Kubu Raya need to produce data and information collaboratively. On the other hand, community and private groups can help the government by reporting peatland conditions in their villages or concessions to government institutions. The FMU has a comprehensive role in designing, implementing, and evaluating forest landscape rehabilitation within their jurisdictional areas, including peatlands.

The cooperation of stakeholders in peatland management is the critical point of sustainable management. However, the difference of interest due to the economic and conservation orientation can result in a conflict of interests. It has been experienced in the management of peatland in Europe [14] and by the national peatland restoration agency in Indonesia [15] on the national level [9], and at the regional level such as in Jambi [37], Riau [2], and Kalimantan [12,32,40,41].

All stakeholders generally supported sustainable peatland management in Kubu Raya Regency. There was vast potential for collaboration, coupled with the Regional Peat Restoration Team (TRGD) of West Kalimantan Province. As one of the provinces targeted for restoration, West Kalimantan Province formed the provincial peatland restoration team, namely TRGD, through the Decree of the Governor of West Kalimantan Number 728/DPRKPLH/2017. In addition, officials and employees are also appointed as TRGD implementers through the Decree of the Governor of West Kalimantan Number 383/BPKPD/2018 concerning the appointment of officials and employees as a peat restoration team for the West Kalimantan Province, which is funded through the mechanism of assistance to the Public Housing Office for Residential Areas and Environment (DPRKPLH) unit. West Kalimantan TRGD is responsible for coordinating and facilitating peat restoration activities. TRGD implements an approach to restoration activities in peat ecosystems under the behavior and function of peat ecosystems, namely through natural succession, hydrology, revegetation, or following the development of science and technology. Peat restoration is carried out using the 3R approach (rewetting, revegetation, and revitalization) [23].

The main problem in peat management in West Kalimantan is the limiting participation of stakeholders such as state agencies’ in peatland restoration of the TRGD. The Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) centralized restoration plan caused the Regional Development Planning Agency (Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Daerah/Bappeda) is not in charge of planning peatland restoration, as the co-administration system requires [42]. Meanwhile, local stakeholders are anxious about who would pay for restoration without national funding. Given that full recovery of peatlands could take several years, local stakeholders have voiced concerns about the availability, amount, and mechanism of funding for restoration in the provincial level [43,44]. Another problem is related to funding problems in implementing the TRGD program; this is because, as a new institution, TRGD does not yet have a clear source of funding and still relies on sharing funds from internal parties and other institutions such as BRG.

The regional stakeholders’ role and capacity should be expanded to support, monitor, and supervise the restoration process since the restoration agencies have limited resources. The role of provincial government institutions as the member of TRGD might be enlarged, including the supervision function. The TRGD’s coordination should be reinforced to achieve effective governance. The role of cross-jurisdictional regional organizations (e.g., FMUs, regency-level institutions) also needs to be expanded in order to support the restoration policy process [28].