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Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG/BRGM) — National Rewetting Programme (Indonesia)

Indonesia · Jakarta · See the Indonesia profile

Indonesia's national Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG, later BRGM) rewetted 1.6 million hectares of degraded peatland across seven provinces between 2016 and 2024 via canal blocking, aiming to cut fire risk and emissions after the catastrophic 2015 haze crisis.

1.6 million hectares
Peatland restored (cumulative, by dissolution) (2016-2024)
84,396 hectares
Mangrove restored (cumulative) (2016-2024)
835,288 hectares
Peatland rewetted outside concessions (by end 2020) (2016-2020)
45 %
Share of concession-area restoration target met (by 2024)
2.6 million hectares
Area burned in 2015 fire crisis (2015)
16 US$ billion
Estimated economic loss from 2015 fires (2015)
Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG/BRGM) — National Rewetting Programme (Indonesia)

Details

Maturity
Discontinued
Promoter
Badan Restorasi Gambut dan Mangrove (BRGM) / Government of Indonesia
Period
2016–2024
Keywords
peatland restoration, canal blocking, fire prevention, government programme

Context

Indonesia's Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG, later BRGM) was created by Presidential Regulation No. 1/2016 after the catastrophic 2015 Indonesian forest and peatland fires, which burned roughly 2.6 million hectares and cost an estimated US$16 billion in economic losses, triggering a severe regional haze crisis. The agency adopted a "3R" approach: rewetting (canal blocking), revegetation, and revitalisation of community livelihoods.

Activities

Canal blocking to rewet degraded peatland, revegetation, and community livelihood revitalisation across seven core provinces (Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and Papua). The agency's mandate was extended and broadened into BRGM in 2020, adding mangrove restoration, through December 2024.

Results

By end of 2020, the agency had rewetted 835,288 hectares outside oil-palm and forestry concessions (94% of that sub-target). By dissolution, BRGM reported a cumulative 1.6 million hectares of peatland restored plus 84,396 hectares of mangrove. Independent analysis found only about 45% of the 1.7 million hectares inside private concessions were actually restored by the companies responsible.

Conclusions

Overlapping legal authority with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry limited the agency's enforcement powers. BRGM was dissolved in December 2024, with its remaining responsibilities transferred to line ministries.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — No aggregate budget figure is published; scale implied by canal-blocking infrastructure and staffing across 1.6 million hectares and seven provinces over nine years.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Agency operated 2016-2024 (established by Presidential Regulation No. 1/2016, dissolved December 2024).
Staffing & skills
National peatland restoration agency staff (BRG/BRGM) operating under a presidential mandate across seven provinces

Conditions for success

  • Formal legal mandate (Presidential Regulation) with dedicated national agency
  • Canal-blocking as core rewetting technique at landscape scale
  • Provincial-level coordination across seven core provinces

Common failure modes

  • Overlapping legal authority with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry limited enforcement powers
  • Only about 45% of the 1.7 million hectares inside private concessions was actually restored by the responsible companies

Where it fits

Governance type
National government agency established by presidential regulation
Scale
National programme spanning seven provinces

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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