Aim

Indonesian Peat Prizes aims to find the most accurate, affordable and timely method of mapping the extent and thickness of Indonesian peatlands.

Why

Peat forests are some of the most important ecosystems for Indonesia and climate change. The country holds the largest tropical peatland in the world, which acts as a major carbon sink.

Peat map is one of the key factors for Indonesia to monitor and maintain peat forests. However, while Indonesia has several existing peat maps, they are not high resolution, do not contain accurate information on peat thickness and there’s no accepted methodology for measuring peat thickness. Indonesian Peat Prizes winner will contribute to the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) for mapping peatland in Indonesia.

How

The International Peat Mapping team, comprising of scientists from Remote Sensing Solutions GmbH (RSS), the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and Sriwijaya University, is the winner of Indonesian Peat Prize. The team deployed satellite-based technologies and airborne LiDAR, combined with established on-the-ground measurements, making them the lead in mapping peatlands that combine accuracy, speed, and affordability.

The BIG currently leads the process of using the winning method as a reference to improve the current standard for mapping peatland in a scale of 1:50,000, and will start the process by issuing a BIG regulation on peatland mapping in a scale of 1:50,000.

With the new method that can accurately capture information on peatland, Indonesia can protect and manage peatland areas, accelerate peatland restoration and support Indonesia’s development goals.