TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government will establish Peat Land Managing Agency to restore peat lands after recent forest and peat land fires in several regions in Indonesia.
The Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya said that the agency would be under the supervision of the President and have its office at the State Palace. She aalso said that heads of the agency would be officials from ministries and they would coordinate with related ministries.
Siti added that the government aimed to change the paradigm to tackle the disaster with prevention and said that the US had donated US$ 2.9 million to manage peat lands.
As an initial step, the minister said that the government would hold an international conference on peat lands.
In the two-day conference, the government will invite peat land experts both from Indonesia and abroad, as well as environmental organizations.
Specifically, there will be representatives from Norway and Japan who will share about ways to manage peat lands in their respective areas. It is planned that they will also go to South Sumatera to study and conduct a research on the forest fires in Ogan Ilir, Banyuasin, and Musi Banyuasin.
TIKA PRIMANDARI | PARLIZA HENDRAWAN
