Over the past decade, the peatland ecosystem in the ASEAN region has increasingly been damaged by fire and drainage, turning carbon storage into carbon emitters, which has a huge impact on the climate crisis. A study by WRI Indonesia in 2016 found that the drainage of one hectare of peatland would produce on average 55 metric tons of CO2 per year or equivalent to burning approximately 6,000 gallons of gasoline. One of the main drivers of the peat damage is human intervention, such as land clearing for plantations. This happens because of the lack of knowledge on peatlands among the stakeholders in Southeast Asia and the perception that peatlands do not have any economic value.

People for Peat believes that the peatland issue should be effectively managed through holistic and proactive approaches, which require collective efforts from State Actors (SA) and NSAs. However, the awareness of NSAs in the ASEAN region related to sustainable peatland management is still inadequate. Thus, it is important to raise awareness of sustainable peatland management through multiple channels, including journalism efforts.

This is why People for Peat conducted its first-ever Editors' Meeting to provide an overview on Sustainable Peatland Management to the news editors as well as creating networks among the editors from various publications in Southeast Asia.

Event Rundown