Dominance of Palm Oil Plantation Utilization on Peatlands in Riau Province Suwondo (a*), Sri Wulandari (b), Darmadi (b), Rudy Haryanto (c), Iqbal Ramdani (d)
a) Center for Environmental Studies, Riau University, Pekanbaru, Indonesia
*suwondo[at]lecturer.unri.ac.id
b) Biology Education Study Program, Riau University, Pekanbaru, Indonesia
c) Environmental Science Doctoral Program, Riau University, Pekanbaru, Indonesia
d) Rural Area Planning Study Program, Riau University, Pekanbaru, Indonesia
Abstract
Oil palm plantations have had a positive impact in the form of increasing economic and social value for people in Riau Province. So that the area of oil palm plantations continues to increase. The limited mineral land in Riau Province has triggered the opening of oil palm plantations on peatlands. This study was conducted to obtain information on the dominance of the use of oil palm plantations on peatlands in Riau Province in this decade. The study was conducted with a descriptive approach based on the analysis of changes in peat land use and increased production of oil palm plantations. The analysis was carried out spatially with the overlay technique. The results of the analysis were strengthened descriptively based on a literature review on the conditions, potentials and challenges of oil palm plantations on peatlands. The results of the study found that oil palm plantations have dominated other land use sectors in Riau Province, including on peatlands. Utilization of peatland for plantations has reached 44.48%. The rate of expansion of plantation area is very fast. This increase was also accompanied by an increase in the amount of production in the oil palm plantation sector. So that palm oil in Riau Province has become a leading commodity and contributed most of the regional income in this decade. The results of the study also reveal that the existence of oil palm has an influence on changes in the poverty level in Riau Province. Utilization of oil palm plantations on peatlands also has challenges that must be managed including low productivity levels, limited water protection and management capacity, and the threat of damage to the hydrological function of peatlands.
Keywords: Palm plantation, land use, peat land, Riau Province
