The floor of the Indonesian rainforest is formed of peat soil several metres deep; this encourages the growth of plants with very low nutrient requirements which occur only in this ecosystem. If gaps are made in the forest the peat dries out and readily catches fire. Several thousand hectares of forest are destroyed each year in this way. In addition, illegal logging and the conversion of forest into oil palm, rubber and timber plantations contribute to the loss of peat forest. To counteract this loss, GTZ – commissioned by the German environment ministry, BMU – is carrying out a project in the province of Merang in South Sumatra; this is one of the first projects under the REDD initiative (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) agreed at the 2007 UN Climate Conference in Bali.

The 24,000-hectare area is being used to pilot a conservation strategy for the Indonesian peat swamp forests, which cover more than 20 million hectares in total. The first step was to create viable structures: a new forest administration was set up for the district and staff are being shown how to manage the forests so as to maintain the peat dome and meet the requirements for participation in the carbon market. The forest has been surveyed and work on documenting the flora and fauna has commenced. To help tackle the problem of forest fires, rangers measure the dryness of the forest every day during the dry period.

Measurements taken in the carbon-rich peat soil show that there is capacity for around 500,000 tonnes of CO2 each year in the project area. Avoiding further logging can thus bring long-term gains: the revenue from emissions certificates can be used to finance biodiversity conservation, develop local infrastructure and create new income opportunities. The activities supported by the project since 2008 include the creation of village tree nurseries and small poultry breeding farms, from which more than 500 people have so far benefited.

GTZ makes local policy-makers aware of the extent and consequences of the destruction of the peat forest and encourages them to implement existing laws to conserve the forest and curb illegal logging. Many people can still remember Asia's largest forest fire disaster of 1997/98, which destroyed ten million hectares of forest and cost the economy more than EUR ten billion.