Pekanbaru, 22 July 2026 — Peatland management does not have to place environmental protection and economic growth as opposing interests. With suitable commodity selection, strengthened community institutions, innovation, and access to markets and financing, peatlands can remain protected while serving as a sustainable source of livelihood.
This message emerged during GREEN CONNECT #1: “GAMBUTOPIA: Exploring Green Commodity Innovation from Riau’s Peatlands,” which was held online via Zoom Meeting.
The forum brought together government representatives, academics, research institutions, businesses, and development partners to discuss opportunities for developing commodities that are aligned with the ecological characteristics of peatlands.
Peatlands as an Important Landscape for Climate, Nature, and Communities
Bambang Arifatmi, Country Coordinator of the UNEP UN-REDD Programme in Indonesia, stated that Riau holds an important position as home to one of the largest tropical peatland landscapes in Indonesia.
In addition to storing carbon and supporting biodiversity, peatlands also regulate water systems and serve as a source of livelihood for communities.
According to Bambang, the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and forest and land degradation require cross-sectoral collaboration. Through a jurisdictional approach, GREEN for Riau encourages stakeholders to work within a development framework that benefits climate, nature, and communities.
Purnama Irwansyah, S.Hut., M.M., Head of Bappeda Riau Province, stated that Riau has around 4.9 million hectares of Peat Hydrological Units. Part of this area has experienced utilization, canal development, degradation, and fire, requiring careful management approaches.
According to him, green commodity development needs to be accompanied by knowledge, facilitation, and business models that allow communities to gain economic benefits without compromising peatland health.
Commodities Must Be Ecologically Suitable and Marketable
Former Director General of Social Forestry and Environmental Partnership at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry for the 2017–2024 period, Bambang Supriyanto, emphasized that peatland management cannot use a one-size-fits-all approach for all areas.
Ecological conditions, peat depth, area functions, and the social situation of communities must be considered before determining the form of intervention or commodities to be developed.
In degraded peatland areas, the approach may refer to rewetting, revegetation, and revitalization of community economies. However, selected commodities should not only be ecologically suitable. They must also have a market and be able to generate economic benefits.
An integrated landscape approach with several leading commodities is considered useful for building economies of scale, encouraging product processing, creating jobs, and retaining added value at the local level.
Prof. Dr. Made Hesti Lestari Tata, researcher at BRIN’s Research Center for Ecology and Ethnobiology, added that one approach that can be developed is paludiculture, namely the use of wet peatlands through suitable plants and commodities.
This practice has long been known by communities in Riau, including through sago cultivation, and must continue to consider ecological suitability, economic benefits, and community acceptance.
From Snakehead Fish to Stingless Bee Honey
Several site-level practices show that innovation can unlock new economic value without drying peatlands.
PT Alam Siak Lestari, for example, has developed the use of snakehead fish from peatland ecosystems as raw material for albumin products. Fahmi Afdhi Zaky from PT Alam Siak Lestari explained that this model connects community knowledge, research, product development, and the involvement of local fish farmers and fishers.
Another experience was shared by Barano S. Sulistyawan, Team Leader of the RIMBA Program, through the development of stingless bee honey and coconut in peatland landscapes across Riau, Jambi, and West Sumatra.
Stingless bee honey cultivation can be developed without opening or damaging ecosystems, while coconut has economic potential when supported by improved productivity, downstream processing, local value addition, and better market access.
Nevertheless, green commodity development still faces challenges, including technical capacity, product quality and standardization, community institutions, market certainty, and financing.
Opening Access to Green Business Financing
From the financing perspective, Riska Efriyanti from UNEP introduced a blended finance approach through the Tropical Landscapes Grant Fund (TLGF). This scheme uses public funding or grants to help attract private capital for businesses that generate environmental and social impacts.
Business feasibility, governance, job creation, and benefits for community groups are important components of the assessment.
Site-level enterprises also require strong institutions, including cooperatives, associations, business groups, or Social Forestry Business Groups. Collective institutions can strengthen communities’ bargaining position, help meet production scale, and facilitate relationships with buyers and investors.
Encouraging Collaboration and Innovation for Riau’s Peatlands
The GREEN CONNECT #1 discussion showed that developing green commodities on peatlands cannot stop at production. Research and innovation, community institutions, processing and product standardization, access to finance, market certainty, and supportive policies need to move together.
Through GREEN CONNECT, the GREEN for Riau Initiative continues to encourage knowledge exchange and cross-sectoral collaboration to find development models that protect landscape ecological functions while strengthening community economies in Riau.