STRAPEAT - Strategien für eine nachhaltige Nutzung tropischer Torfwaldökosysteme
Forschungsprojekt zur nachhaltigen Nutzung tropischer Torfsumpfwälder.
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Project summary
STRAPEAT was a multidisciplinary European Union research project under the
International Co-operation with Developing Countries budget line (INCO-DEV). The principal objective was to formulate strategies for wise use and sustainable management of lowland tropical peatlands on the Island of Borneo. The key information obtained included (1) location and area of peatland in Borneo and the distribution of peat of different thickness and land use, (2) biophysical and hydrological data on tropical peat, pristine peat swamp forest and developed peatland, (3) ecological and natural resource functions of pristine tropical peatland and the impacts of development and disasters upon these, (4) sector development of tropical peatland, especially for agriculture, forestry and settlement, (5) socio-economic importance of natural and developed tropical peatlands including cost benefit analysis of the principal resources and commodities, (6) response of local people and communities to land use change and disasters on tropical peatland, (7) landscape and nature conservation and wildlife protection and (8) other aspects, including the use of tropical peat and peatland for soil amelioration, horticulture, sylviculture, water supply, water purification, ecotourism and energy generation.
Large areas of globally important tropical peatland in Southeast Asia are under threat from land clearance, degradation and fire, jeopardising their natural functions as reservoirs of biodiversity, carbon stores and hydrological buffers. Many development projects on tropical peatlands have failed through a lack of understanding of the landscape functions of these ecosystems. Utilisation of this resource for agriculture or plantation crops requires drainage that, unavoidably, leads to irreversible loss of peat through subsidence, resulting in severe disturbance of the substrate and creating problems for cultivation and peoples? livelihoods.
The STRAPEAT project promotes wise use of tropical peatlands by integrating biophysical, hydrological and socio-economic data within strategies for sustainable management. It specifically seeks to implement these strategies for practical use in critical peatland areas in Borneo. Local research capability is being strengthened, enabling peatland managers and scientists to understand better, and address, the different, interrelated processes operating in tropical peatlands. The project is contributing positively to fire prevention, water management, poverty alleviation, protection of the environment, improvement of the quality of life and diminishing health risks.
- Burning peat soil
Project document:
http://www.strapeat.alterra.nl/download/Final%20report%20STRAPEAT.pdf