FISHERIES IMPROVEMENT BY MARANNU SERAYA VILLAGE GROUP AS A RESOURCE SUSTAINABILITY EFFORT
Rawa Sari Village in Berbak Sub-district, East Jabung Regency, Jambi, is a village that borders and buffers the Londerang Peat Protection Forest (HLG). Londerang Forest is one of the areas that holds important peat potential in Jambi. Almost the entire area of Rawa Sari Village is also peatland. Jambi Province itself is the province that has the third largest peatland in Sumatra Island with an area reaching 736,227.20 hectares (Jambi Provincial Forestry Service, 2018).
According to mongabay.co.id, peat swamp forests have an important function as a hydrological regulator for the surrounding area. Peat is often referred to as a natural sponge that holds, absorbs and stores water during the rainy season, and releases water to maintain the balance of the ecosystem in the dry season. Not only that, but peat forests are also a high type of carbon storage forest. For this reason, it is very important for us to manage and utilize peat forests responsibly to maintain the welfare of humans and nature, and of course reduce climate change.
Peat forests are also important for people's lives, both for their ecological services and for the economy. Rawa Sari Village Government, Cipancar Community Group (Pokmas) and Melati Women Farmers Group (KWT) from Rawa Sari Village, and WWF Indonesia Foundation are working together to implement tree nursery and planting programs, in an effort to restore vulnerable or damaged peatlands.
A total of 4,175 seedlings of local endemic plants such as Jelutung Rawa (Dyera lowii)and Pulai Rawa (Alstonia pneumatophora) resulting from the village community's nursery efforts, were planted in the 5-hectare Other Use Area (APL). Not only that, 1,500 Liberica coffee seedlings, 1,500 areca nut tree seedlings, and various fruit trees were also planted, including 275 jackfruit tree seedlings, 275 rambutan tree seedlings, 250 durian tree seedlings, and 4,000 pineapple tree seedlings.
The effort to restore the land by planting vegetation aims to restore the function of the peat ecosystem on the land as a carbon sink and improve ecosystem connectivity through green economic development. All the trees planted are expected to provide economic benefits to the people of Rawa Sari Village, and the community's economy will improve.
As wise consumers, we also need to choose forest products that have minimum impact on natural ecosystems. Let's choose environmentally friendly products, local products from the community, and support the people of Rawa Sari Village to save forests and peatlands for the welfare and safety of us all. Happy International Forest Day!