Financing and incentive options to promote the sustainable use and management of peatland forests in Southeast Asia

Key messages

• Peatlands have multifaceted values but are threatened. Peatlands provide ecological, economic, cultural, spiritual, historical, aesthetic and wilderness benefits. In Southeast Asia, the 24–30 million ha of peatlands vary significantly between healthy and degraded states and are threatened significantly by large-scale agricultural expansion. Collaboration of all relevant stakeholders is critical to develop an integrated approach to peatland management and restoration.
• Climate- and nature-based solutions (NbS) can help meet carbon sequestration and ecosystem resilience goals. Annual investments in NbS must ideally reach USD 542 billion by 2030 and USD 737 billion by 2050 from the current USD 200 billion.
• Diverse sources, including public, private and philanthropic investments, must be harnessed to finance sustainable peatland management. These funds can be channelled using a variety of mechanisms that can provide necessary financial support and promote specific behaviours or outcomes to drive large scale projects and achieve ambitious climate action.
• An initial investment of USD 1.5 billion by 2030 is needed to mitigate haze in Southeast Asia. The ASEAN Investment Framework for Haze-Free Sustainable Land Management in Southeast Asia (AIF HFSLM) was developed to leverage this funding and mobilize resources to support the actions identified under the ASEAN Peatland Management Strategy and Second Haze-Free Roadmap.
• An appropriate enabling environment is crucial. An enabling environment is needed to capitalize on available funding and investment opportunities at local, national and regional levels. Targeted research can enhance selection and implementation of financing strategies in sustainable peatland management.

• View source

DOI:

Altmetric score:

Dimensions Citation Count: