Newsletter
Toward the Regeneration of Tropical Peatland Societies

in English

No.

08

10 March 2020

Newsletter of Tropical Peatland
Society Project,Research Institute for
Humanity and Nature

2019 Peatland and Forest Fires in Central
Kalimantan, Indonesia
Forest fires are emerging as an urgent and globally significant environmental problem. Forest fires
have tragic and horrifying impacts on both human and non-human beings. Although it did not receive
as much international media attention, there was also a massive forest fire in Central Kalimantan,
Indonesia, in 2019. In this article, we cover this forest fire and explain our work with the Centre forInternational Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatland (CIMTROP), Palangka
Raya University, toward mitigating the impacts of future forest fires in the region.
Kurniawan Eko Susetyo1, Kitso Kusin2, Yulianti Nina2, Yusurum Jagau2, Masahiro Kawasaki3, Daisuke Naito4

I n 2019, Indonesia experienced a weak El Niño event,most incidences of ﬁre occurred in Palangka Raya city.

in both Kalimantan and Sumatra. Some provinces –ﬁre in Palangka Raya – about three times more than inSouth Sumatra, and Jambi – have been covered in thickRaya began to increase in May – two months earlier

development of tropical peat swamp forests has

research of Yulianti and Hayasaka (2013) and Yulianti etrecent years because the forestsʼ peat layer is burned

concentrated in Pulang Pisau regency during very

At present, peatland-forest fires pose an incredibly

The total burned area seems to reflect the generalwhich increased the severity of forest and peatland ﬁres

In August 2019, there were more than 300 incidences ofsuch as Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Riau,

Pulang Pisau regency. This past year, ﬁres in Palangka

smoke and ha ze for several months. The rapid

than in Pulang Pisau. This pattern is borne out by theincreased Indonesian CO 2 emissions dramatically inal. (2019a), who demonstrated that fires are usuallyas part of this development (Hooijer et al, 2006).

strong and strong El Niño years such as 2006 and 2015.

serious problem. Figure 1 graphs the total number ofpattern of incidences of ﬁre – i.e., Palangka Raya wasincidences of ﬁre in Indonesia in 2019 and shows thatthe most heavily burned area in 2019 (Yulianti et al,

Figure 1. Monthly incidences of ﬁre and total burned area.

Figure 2. Actual ﬁre in Tumbang Nusa, Pulang Pisau – 7 August, 2019.

1. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) 2. Palangka Raya University 3. Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) 4. Kyoto University

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2019c). Figure 2 shows photographs of the forest ﬁres.

and the third week of September 2019. In fact, CO

ﬁres take place on degraded land or shrubs.

single day (Kawasaki et al, 2019; Figure 3). For someand Geophysics Agency (BMKG) station in the vicinity

the United Statesʼ eight-hour Acute Exposure Guidelineincreased up to 14 ppm and PM2.5 up to 800 µg/m3 in a

Other research has indicated that the majority of these

Measurements taken at the Meteorology Climatology

context on how unhealthy these levels of pollution are,of Tjilik Riwut Airport in Palangka Raya, indicated that

Level (AEGL) for CO is 27 ppm, and the World Healththat whole area was covered by a thick haze in August

Organisationʼs 24-hour Air Quality Guideline for PM2.5

i s 2 5 µg / m 3 . U n d e r t h e s e p o l l u te d c o n d i t i o n s ,and September 2019. On 29 September, visibility was
reduced to 1,300 metres at the airport. Since 2018, as aIndonesiaʼs air quality was unhealthy for humans andcollaborative project among Indonesian researchother living things.

institutions, RIHN, Kyoto University and CIFOR, wehave installed sensors to monitor carbon monoxide (CO)Examining the impact of forest fires

Pulang Pisau (Tumbang Nusa, Taruna Jaya) and Buntoi.

in Palangka Raya, we conducted a ﬁeld survey to collectand particulate matter (PM2.5) levels in Palangka Raya,

In order to understand the social impacts of forest ﬁres

The background level of CO in Palangka Raya was 0.4

village- and household-level data through interviews

parts per million (ppm) during the non-fire season;with key informants and households by Focus Groupduring August-September 2019, it rose to 3 ppm. By our

Discussion (FGD) from March to April 2019. Localc ommunitiesʼ responses to the fires and themeasurements, concentrations of CO and PM2.5 in

Palangka Raya peaked in the second week of August

rehabilitation activities they undertake differ from

Figure 3. Left: time series of PM2.5 concentrations in Tumbang Nusa, Buntoi and Palangka Raya City for August and September 2019.
Right: satellite images of high PM2.5 levels at each location (Kawasaki, 2019).
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Newsletter
community to community. To clarify these differences,

their land. This practice continued up until it was banned

recovered from the ﬁre disaster. Research sites included

the forest and peatland fires of 2019 (Table 1). Our

we collected data on how local people responded to andin 2015. The human-induced ﬁre is one of the causes of

the neighbouring villages of Kalampangan, Kereng

observations indicated that the 2019 forest ﬁres started

Bangkirai and Tanjung Taruna. Both sites are located 22

mainly in the regionʼs roads and rivers – i.e., points ofkilometres south of Palangka Raya. Kalampangan iseasy human access. To counteract the spread of ﬁres,

Tanjung Taruna is populated primarily by Dayak andhow to better monitor and patrol their land and how to

populated primarily by Javanese immigrants while

the CIMTROP ﬁreﬁghting team taught local ﬁreﬁghters

Banjar people.

wet the area surrounding a forest fire by injecting well

The FGD inter view sur veys in Tanjung Taruna,

water into the peat layer.

Kalampangan, and Kereng Bangkirai were attended by
key informants, including the customary chief/mantir,

Preparation for future forest fires

representing the interests of local farmers, fishermen,

with our aforementioned institutional partners are

religious leaders, police, firefighters, and individuals

To prevent future forest and peatland ﬁres, we together

women, youth, and students. These villages managed

developing a manual for extinguishing, preventing, andtheir land by swidden agriculture, which requires the

mitigating peatland fires, taking into account both thelarge-scale burning and clearing of vegetation, because

relevant scientiﬁc research and the experiences of thethis was the fastest and cheapest way for them to clear

local communities. Our proposed approaches to ﬁghting

Table 1. Analysis of the main causes of forest and land ﬁres in Indonesia in 2015 (Yulianti et al, 2019b).

Natural causes of ﬁre

Human cause of ﬁreFactors affecting policy

El Niño phenomenon (every 2-15 years)

Clearing land for economic activity

Lack of regulations prohibiting burning at thevillage / kelurahan level

Fishing

Lack of village-level regulations regarding
burning peatland as a land management
practice

Thick peat

Throwing away cigarette butts

Lack of village-level regulations on this front

Land damaged / unsuitable for planting

Burning trash

National conservation efforts, relocation of
the capital, expansion of rice fields, andtransmigration

Accident / failure

The policy regarding to the national andregional election schedule, for example theseverest fire in 2015 coincided with theelection of the Governor of Central
Kalimantan or the ﬁres of 2019 coincided withthe presidential election.

Land left abandoned or bare

Figure 4. Focus group discussions in Palangka Raya and Pulang Pisau.
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Figure 5. Steps for local ﬁreﬁghters to follow.

References

peatland ﬁres are shown in Figure 5. These proposals

Hooijer, A., M. Silvius, H. Wösten, and S. Page. 2006. PEAT-CO2,

are based on the experiences of CIMTROP volunteer

Assessment of CO2 Emissions from Drained Peatlands in SE Asia.

firefighters (Tim Serbu Api or TSA), who have been

Delft Hydraulics Report Q3943, in Cooperation with Wetlands

working in this region since 1997. The methods andInternational and Alterra.

approaches in Figure 5 is modified from what carried

Limin, S.H., Saman, T.N., Alim, S. 2007. Wild fire suppression by local

out by the TSA team in Limin et al (2007). This manualorganizations in tropical peatland of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.

is proposed for volunteer firefighters at the village or

TROPIC Vol. 16 (3)kelurahan level, especially in Palangka Raya city and

Kawasaki, M., Ohashi, M., Rahman, A., Nugroho, D., Kusin, K. 2019.
Summary of Haze in Central Kalimantan and Sumatra for 2019.

Pulang Pisau regency. Candidate of TSA members must

Report.

be trained by senior TSA members in CIMTROP.

Yulianti, N., Hayasaka, H. 2013. Recent active fire under El Niño

We envision local ﬁreﬁghters being split up into four

conditions in Kalimantan, Indonesia. American Journal of Plants

sub-teams of five to seven people each. These sub-Science 4: 685-696

teams will have individual responsibilities to make theYulianti, N., Kitso, K., Naito, D., Kawasaki, M., Kozan, O., Susetyo, K, E.

firefighting effor ts more effective. These divided

2019a. The Linkage of El Niño-induced Peat Fires and Its Relation

responsibilities include responsibility for accommodation

to Current Haze Condition in Central Kalimantan. Proceeding ofand installing pumping machines, providing andManagement (ISWEM). Banjarmasin, 5 -7 November 2019.

the 5th International Symposium on Wetlands Environmental

and equipment, providing water sources, making wells

Yulianti, N., Kusin, K., Murni, E., Dedy, Barbara, B., Naito, D., Jagau, Y.,analyzing hotspots and making transects / firebreaks,

Kulu, I.P., Susetyo, K.E. 2019b Cause – Effect Analysis On Forest-a n d o p e r at i n g p um p s a n d ot h e r e q ui p m e n t a s

Peatland Fires In Central Kalimantan. Proceeding of Seminar

mentioned by Yulianti et al (2019c). We will continue

Nasional Ilmu Lingkungan (SNaIL) 2019. Bandar Lampung. 28

testing this manual and will conduct consultation

November 2019.

workshops to check the efﬁcacy and consistency of thisYulianti, N., Kusin, K., Jagau, Y., Naito, D., Susetyo, K.E. 2019c.
Community Based Fire Fighting In Peat Hidrological Unit

plan. We are hoping to make this manual publicly

Kahayan – Sebangau River: Methods And Approaches.

available before next ﬁre season.

Proceeding of 2nd International Conference on Natural Resources
and Environmental Conservation (ICNREC). Bogor. 28 November
2019.

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Detecting underground fires with drones
Taishin Kameoka1, Osamu Kozan2

1. Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University
2. Research Institute for Humanity and Nature / Kyoto University

E ven during rainy season, peatland ﬁres may continue

camera can detect thermal gradients, another thermal

as they are invisible to the naked eye from the surface.

show the Digital Number (DN) value. This camera can

to burn underground. Controlling these ﬁres is difﬁcult,infrared camera (Zenmuse XT) can take images which

However, an approach to detecting underground forest

both register fire temperatures and produce thermal

ﬁres which combines thermal cameras and drones may

maps by converting DN values to temperature readings

prove to be an effective means of identifying and(see Figure 2). The red parts of this image represent
hotspots hotter than 70 ℃. Both original images were

hopefully preventing peatland ﬁres.

Figure 1 shows a regular image and one overlaid withtaken at an altitude of 100 metres.

thermal data (Multi-Spectral Dynamic Imaging or MSX)

Each thermal infrared camera has strong and weakof a burning point taken by a Mavic 2 Enterprise Dualpoints respectively. The adequate application of these

spreading out over the groundʼs surface, the overlaid

information on underground fires and dramaticallycamera. Whereas the regular image only shows smoke

c a m e r a s a n d d r o n e s h e l p s u s g at h e r d et a i l e dimage on the right precisely identifies the location of

improves the ef ficiency of firefighting ef for ts inunderground fires and their hotspots. Although thispeatlands.

Figure 1. Regular image (left) and one overlaid with thermal data (right) taken by a Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual camera (November
2019 in Palangka Raya).

Figure 2. Temperature map rendered by Zenmuse XT (November 2019 in Palangka Raya).
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Global and Indonesian Climate in 2019
Associated with a moderate El Niño-like global climate situation, less rain fell in Indonesia in months around
September 2019, causing rather serious forest fires probably due to man-made causes.

Manabu D. Yamanaka

Research Institute for Humanity and Nature /Professor Emeritus, Kobe University

Clouds associated with warm Paciﬁc Ocean surface

events, Indonesia receives often less rainfall even inyears. This is called the El Niño-southern oscillation

smog. Since 1950s, eight relatively strong El Niño

water oscillate eastward and westward every few

the rainy season, leading to serious droughts and(ENSO), and consists of El Niño and La Niña events

events (in 1957/58, 1965/66, 1972/73, 1982/83, 1986–

with eastward and westward shifts, respectively. A

88, 1991/92, 1997/98, and 2014–16) occurred (seesimilar oscillation, the Indian-Ocean dipole mode

Fig.1). Of these, the events of 1982/83, 1997/98 and2014/16 were ʻsuper-El Niñoʼ events.

(IOD), appears on the western side of Indonesia, anda westward shift is called the positive IOD event.

A moderate El Niño event occurred from late 2018

Thus, during El Niño and/or positive IOD events,

until July 2019. After that, El Niño-like features still

Indonesia receives less rainfall than average, and thiscontinued, but only in the western Pacific – this iscorrelation is quite clear in the dry season (June-

called El Niño modoki – a Japanese word meaning

August in Jawa). In major El Niño and positive IOD

similar but different. A positive IOD event began▲ Figure 1. ENSO events over the past 40 years. (Sea surface temperature data : IRI/Columbia U).

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Newsletteraround May 2019 and peaked around October 2019.

warming, and demonstrated that the climate is(see the left column of Fig. 2). This sequence and thechanging due to excessive and intrusive methods ofseasonal march, combined with local cultivation

economic development (e.g., burning natural tropicalpractices, produced forest ﬁres in Amazonia and theforests for cultivating plantations, etc.). These

Congo Basin in the ﬁrst half of 2019, in Sumatera andchanges may be irreversible and have serious

Kalimantan in September 2019, and in Australia fromconsequences for future human societies. We need to

October 2019 (see the right column of Fig. 2). As of

promote the collection and analysis of long-term

January 2020 the climate situation in Indonesia has

climate data, and obtain conclusions as to how to

become more normal. Although the El Niño modoki

sustainably develop tropical peatlands.

has not yet ended, the positive IOD is concluding, theReferences (URLs)

rainy season has come to Jawa, and ﬂoods occur in

ECMWF-Copernicus:

Jakarta under attack by an intense Asian monsoon

https://www.ecmwf.int/en/about/what-we-do/environmental-(called cold surges) and/or an Indian-Ocean superservicescloud cluster (called Madden-Julian oscillation) .

IRI/Columbia U:

2019ʼs decrease of rainfall did not have as much ofhttps://iri.columbia.edu/our-expertise/climate/forecasts/enso/

an effect on the global climate as super El Niño

current/

events might. However, 2019ʼs forest fires produced

JMA-TCC:

massive green-house gases to accelerate global

http://ds.data.jma.go.jp/tcc/tcc/products/elnino/▲ Figure 2. Distributions of sea surface temperature (left) and atmospheric pollutants (right) between August and October 2019.

7

NewsletterNews of Indonesian Fires in 2019
In 2019, large-scale forest and peatland fires broke out across Indonesia and caused catastrophic deforestations
and health hazards across the country. These fires were the worst seen in the country since 2015. This paper givesa broader picture of the 2019 Indonesian fires and the health hazards they pose by surveying news published
online up until December 2019.



Takamasa Osawa, Ryosuke Kajita

Research Institute for Humanity and Nature▲ Figure 1. Total burnt area in Indonesia in 2019. Source: Ministry of Environment and Forestry website (SiPongi–KLHK), http://sipongi.menlhk.
go.id/hotspot/luas_kebakaran. Data retrieved on 7 January 2020.

A t the beginning of 2019, both Indonesian andIndonesiaʼs National Disaster Management Agency

international meteorological agencies forecasted that

(BNPB) announced in mid-December that the total

due to the effects of the El Niño modoki and the Indian

October was 942,000 hectares. Of this area, 270,000

2019 dry season would bring less rainfall than usualarea which had been burnt from January to the end of

Ocean Dipole (see page 6-7) (Republika , 2 Oct.).

hectares were peatland and 672,000 were mineralland (Kompas , 18 Dec.). However, reports published

Indeed, Indonesia received less rainfall between

January and October than usual, which sparked

by Indonesiaʼs Ministry of Environment and Forestry

frequent ﬁres in August and September.

(KLHK) show that the total burnt area was 1.592

T h e ma in area s af fe c te d by t h e f ires weremillion hectares (see Figures 1 and 2).

Kalimantan, eastern and southern Sumatra, andThe different figures presented by the BNPB and

Papua – all areas which contain a broad area of

KLHK show that different agencies estimated the total

Tenggara, which has mineral-rich soil (see Figure 1).

announced that 75,841 hectares of land were burnt inpeatland. In addition, there were fires in East Nusa

burnt area differently. In a case, KLHK and BNPB

After October, Kalimantan and Sumatra entered the

Riau province up until mid-October (BNPB andrainy season and the number of hotspots began to

KLHKʼs online report). On the other hand, Riauʼsdecrease.

Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD-Riau)
8Newsletter

reported that 9,094 hectares had been burnt over theatmospheres due to particle matter 2.5 (PM2.5)

Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)(ppm) in many points of Indonesia in 2019 (The

had been burnt from January to October. This online

dramatically increase when the value is beyond 100).

criticized by KLHK and taken down on 6 December

12 September. The resulting haze reduced visibility toestimation at the end of December presents almost

The Riau Health Centre encouraged people to refrainreport by the scientific journal Nature attributed thegovernor of Riau province declared a provincial

these agencies using different satellite data and(Channel News Asia, 24 Sept.). The director of thesame period (Bisnis.com, 9 Oct). In another case, thereached unsafe levels of 200-300 parts per million

reported that more than 1.6 million hectares of landpossibilities of contracting respiratory diseases

repor t was published on 2 December, but was

Levels of PM2.5 went beyond 300ppm in Riau on(Nature , 10 Dec.) (Despite criticism, the KLHKʼs

200-400 metres on 13 September (see Photograph 1).

the same figure as the CIFORʼs report.). An onlinefrom open-air activities (Tirto , 13 Sept.) and thecause of these ﬂuctuations in reports of burnt areas toemergency due to the ha ze on 23 September

ground observations.

Riau Health Centre announced that about 34,000
people contracted acute upper respiratory tract
infections between 1 and 22 September (Elshinta , 23

Sept.).

The haze spread beyond Indonesia. In Malaysia,

2,600 schools cancelled classes between 16 and 20

September, stopping 1.7 million students from
attending school (CNN (in Indonesian), 18 Sept.). The
Malaysian prime minister announced that the

government attempted to make artificial rain withdrones, and contacted the Indonesian government

seeking cooperation in fighting and reducing forest
ﬁres (Kontan , 20 Sept.). In Singapore, the government

introduced air ﬁlters in schools as a result of the haze

(Straits Times , 20 Sept.). A spokesman for theSingaporean Minister of the Environment and Water
Resources emphasised the importance of promoting
cooperation among ASEAN countries to prevent the▲ Figure 2. Total burnt area in Riau, Central Kalimantan andIndonesia between 2014–2019. Source: same as Figure 1.

worst effects of the forest fires and resultant haze
(Kompas , 27 Sept.).

Indonesia is not the only country which bears

In any case, the total burnt area in 2019 was

dramatically larger than it has been over the past

responsibility for the forest fires and resultant haze.

of hotspots decreased after October, some areas

agency attributed the haze in Malaysia to fires thatexperienced occasional wildﬁres (Mongabay , 23 Oct.).

12 Sept.). Governments and private enterprises inthree years (see Figure 2). Although the total number

Both the KLHK and Indonesian meteorologicalreceived seasonally low amounts of rainfall andhad happened within that country (BBC [in Indonesian],

Continued analysis will discern what the actual, total

both Malaysia and Singapore have over-developed

2019.

territory, leading to higher incidences of ﬁre and more

Haze and health hazards

comprehensive, international system to prevent future

forests and peatland in Indonesia and in their own

area was that was burnt by of the Indonesian ﬁres ofserious fires. It is necessar y to develop a
problems and disasters.

Severe forest ﬁres bring severe air pollution. The air

quality index, which shows the pollution of local
9Newsletter

Responses to the problem(BBC [in Indonesian], 24 Sept.). They also demanded

Singaporean governments identified the forest fires

which had violated relevant laws and regulations.

The heads of the Indonesian, Malaysian, andthat the government fine international companies

as an important regional issue during a summit

While the government imposed the fines of 3 trillion

meeting held at the beginning of August (Jakarta

rupiahs on nine international companies over the past

Post , 7 Aug.). While the Indonesian government

four years, they have collected only 78 billion rupiahs

received some criticism from the other countries(BBC [in Indonesian], 2 Oct.).

because of their insufﬁcient measures of insufﬁcient2020 may be a tipping point regarding Indonesianenvironmental regulations, Indonesian President Joko

peatland restoration policy and activity for two

prevent and ﬁght the ﬁres by dispatching its army torestoration activities of the last three years had only

Widodo responded that Indonesia did its best to

reasons. First, the 2019 fires demonstrate that thehelp ﬁght ﬁres, water-bombing ﬁres, and attempting tolimited preventative power. More drastic and wide-

make artificial rain (Tempo , 7 Aug.; 17 Sept.). He

ranging efforts are necessary. Second, changes in

directed related institutions such as Peatland

central and local governments may help affect

Re s to r at i o n Ag e n c y (B RG) a n d t h e B PB D tochange. Widodo was reelected and is reorganisingemphasise the impor tance taking preventative

forest policy; Syamsuar (who is regarded as being

measures, such as keeping groundwater levels highearnestly interested in environmental problems) was(Warta Ekonomi , 8 Aug.).

elected governor of Riau; and the BRG will be
reorganised at the end of the year. Thus, it isnecessary to observe the government movements

closely in 2020 to get a better sense of what the futureholds.

▲ Photograph 1. Haze covers the runway of Pekanbaru airport on
22 September 2019.

On the other hand, several non-governmental▲ Photograph 2. Unwatched ﬁre burning undergrowth in a coconut
garden (Bengkalis Island, 14 September 2019)organisations (NGOs) criticized the governmentʼs

countermeasures. The NGO Walhi pointed out thatthe BRG had made no clear progress on peatland

References omitted.

restoration over the past four years (CNN [inIndonesian], 12 Sept.). Likewise, Greenpeace

Indonesia demanded that the Indonesian government

apply sanctions to the companies which had violated
relevant laws and regulations and caused

environmental damage. They pointed out that the

RIH2019 ﬁres occurred in similar places as the 2015 ﬁres,and that this demonstrated that the companies
responsible for the 2015 fires are not to be trusted

10

NNewsletter

Peat Swamps’ Importance for Freshwater Fish and Ecosystems
A new member of RIHN’s project, Dr. Nofrizal of Riau University, explains his research on freshwater fish in peatswamp ecosystems. His knowledge and experience working with many Japanese researchers will contributeenormously to our understanding of peatland river ecosystems.

Nofrizal
Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science
Riau University

Peat swamps are areas which are directly

fish which live in the sur-adjacent to river water. During the rainy season,rounding river will be key tothese areas flood as the river overflows. Among

this research.

faunal groups, fish exhibit the highest endemicity

My research proves thatto peat swamps (Posa et al. 2011). Work in Pen-peat swamp areas are key pil-insular Malaysia has shown that the blackwaters

lars of freshwater ecosystemsof peat swamps are not species-poor or low in

because several species ofbiomass, and up to 33% of known freshwater

freshwater fish use them asfish species are associated with peat swamps

spawning grounds. This kind(Ng et al. 1994; Kottelat et al. 2006).

of proof will, hopefully, galvanise campaigns to protect

This condition is similar to the mangrove area on

these vibrant, important ecosystems.

the coast, where, during high tide, seawater entersthe mangrove forest area. Mangroves form thefoundation of a highly productive and biologically rich
ecosystem which provides homes and feeding

grounds for a wide range of species, many of which
are endangered (van Bochove et al. 2014). Therefore,

mangrove forests are impor tant to freshwater
ecosystems because many aquatic animals choosethese forests as spawning and nursery grounds.

Due to the similarity between mangrove forests andpeat swamps, I hypothesise that peat swamps areimportant spawning and nursery grounds of fresh
water aquatic animals. My research aims to prove that

▲ Photograph 1. Traditional ﬁsh trap or pengilar ikan in Rantau Baru
villagepeat swamp area are impor tant to freshwater
ecosystems.

References

To do this, we conduct a series of surveys, throughKottelat, M., R. et al. (2006) Paedocypris, a new genus of Southeast

which we collect adult and juvenile ﬁsh in several peat

Asian cyprinid fish with a remarkable sexual dimorphism

swamps. We then compare some of the adult fishcomprises the world's smallest vertebrate. Proceedings of thespecies obtained in the surrounding river areas to de-Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 273 (1589): 895–899.

termine how similar they are. We then analyse theNg, P. K. L. et al. (1994) Revision of the Betta waseri groupﬁshesʼ oocyte levels to determine their maturity (ﬁsh(Teleostei: Belontiidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 42 (3): 593–

with oocyte levels of 3 or 4 are close to spawning).

611.

Next, we gather juveniles living in peat swamps with a

Posa CRM. et al. (2011) Biodiversity and conservation of tropicalanalysis can help determine precisely which species

van Bochove, J-W. et al. (eds.) (2014). The Importance of Mangroves

peat swamp forest. Bioscience 61: 49-57.

plankton net and analyse their DNA. This kind of DNA

to People: A Call to Action. Cambridge. UNEP.

of juvenile ﬁsh live in peat swamps. Data conﬁrming

the similarity of juveniles from peat swamp areas to11

Project Members(1 April 2020)◎ Project Leader

KOZAN, Osamu (RIHN*/ CSEAS**, Kyoto University)◎ Project Members( ●：Leaders of Working Groups/ ○：In-house Members)[Material Cycling Group]● ITOH, Masayuki(University of Hyogo/ CSEAS**, Kyoto University)● KOZAN, Osamu (RIHN*/ CSEAS**, Kyoto University)● SHIMAMURA, Tetsuya(Graduate School of Agriculture, Ehime University)

HASRULLAH (RIHN*/ Riau University)
HIRANO, Takashi(Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University)

IIZUKA, Kotaro(Center for Spatial Information Science, University of Tokyo)

IRIANA, Windy(Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo)

KAMEOKA, Taishin (Graduate School of Asian and African Area
Studies, Kyoto University)○ KAWASAKI, Masahiro (RIHN*/ CSEAS**, Kyoto University)

KUME, Takashi (Graduate School of Agriculture, Ehime University)
KUWATA, Mikinori (School of Physics, Peking University)
MATSUMI, Yutaka (Institute for Space-Earth Environmental
Research, Nagoya University)

MONDA, Yukako (Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University)
SAMEJIMA, Hiromitsu (Institute for Global Environmental

Strategies/ CSEAS**, Kyoto University)

SASAKI, Katsunori (FoE Japan)
YULIANTI, Nina (Center for International Cooperetion in Sustainable
Management of Tropical Peatland, Palangka Raya University)[Community, Corporate and Governance Group]● MIZUNO, Kosuke(RIHN*/ Kyoto University/ University of Indonesia)● OKAMOTO, Masaaki (CSEAS**, Kyoto University)

ABE, Ryuichiro (Rikkyo University)
DEWI, Kurniawati Hastuti (Indonesian Institute of Sciences)
DHENY, Trie Wahyu Sampurno(Geospatial Information Agency Indonesia)

GUNAWAN, Haris (Peatland Restoration Agency, Indonesia)
HASEGAWA, Takuya (CSEAS**, Kyoto University)
HAYASHIDA, Hideki (Institute for Study of Humanities and Social
Sciences, Doshisha University)

HONNA, Jun(Collage of International Relation, Ritsumeikan University)

HOSOBUCHI, Michiko (CSEAS**, Kyoto University)
ITO, Takeshi(Graduate School of Global Studies, Sophia University)○ KAJITA, Ryosuke (RIHN*)MIZUNO, Kei (CSEAS**, Kyoto University)
NEOH, Kok-Boon

KAMEDA, Akihiro (National Museum of Japanese History)
KANO, Hiroyoshi (CSEAS**, Kyoto University)
KOIZUMI, Yusuke

OGAWA, Mariko (CSEAS**, Kyoto University)
OHASHI, Masafumi (Graduate School of Science and Engineering,

KONISHI, Tetsu (Department of Economics, Osaka University of(Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University)

Kagoshima University)

ONDA, Nariaki (Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable
Society, Kyushu University)

PAGE, Susan (Department of Geography, Leicester University)
SABIHAM, Supiandi(Faculty of Agriculture, Bogor Agricultural University)

SETIADI, Bambang (Agency for the Assessment and Applicationof Technology Indonesia)○ SHIODERA, Satomi (RIHN*/ CSEAS**, Kyoto University)

TONOKURA, Kenichi(Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo)

UEDA, Kayo (Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University)○ YAMANAKA, Manabu D. (RIHN*/ Kobe University/ Japan Agency
for Marine-Earth Science and Technology)[International Research Group]● NAITO, Daisuke (Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University)
ABE, Kenichi (RIHN*)
DE JONG, Wil (CSEAS**, Kyoto University)
ISHIKAWA, Noboru (CSEAS**, Kyoto University)
JAGAU, Yusurum (Center for International Cooperation in Sustainable
Management of Tropical Peatland, Palangka Raya University)

KAWAKAMI, Toyoyuki (Rainforest Action Network)
KUSIN, Kitso (Center for International Cooperation in Sustainable

Management of Tropical Peatland, Palangka Raya University)

Kurniawan Eko Susetyo (CIFOR)(School of Human Geography, University of Tokyo)

Economics and Law)

MASUDA, Kazuya(Faculty of Agriculture and Marine Science, Kochi University)

NAKAGAWA, Hikaru (CSEAS**, Kyoto University)
NOFRIZAL(Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Riau University)○ OSAWA, Takamasa (RIHN*/ National Museum of Ethnology)

PRASETYAWAN, Wahyu(Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Islamic State University)

SAMBUAGA, Adlin(Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Riau University)

SATO, Yuri

(Area Studies Center, Institute of Developing Economies)

van SCHAIK, Arthur (CSEAS**, Kyoto University)
SURAYAH, Lutfiah(RIHN*/ Peatland Restoration Agency, Indonesia)

TERAUCHI, Daisuke (Faculty of Sociology, Toyo University)
WATANABE, Kazuo (CSEAS**, Kyoto University)[Research Associate]○ KATSURA, Tomomi (RIHN*)[Advisors]
SUGIHARA, Kaoru (RIHN*)
KONO, Yasuyuki (Kyoto University)* : Research Institute for Humanity and Nature** : Center for Southeast Asian Studies

Newsletter No.8

10 March 2020

Published by Tropical Peatland Society ProjectRoom 4, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan
Tel: (+81)75-707-2108 Fax(+81-75-707-2507)
URL: http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/peatlands
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