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Putting out wildfires: how peat restoration has…

Science · August 13, 2026 · The Conversation · 5 min

New research measures the effectiveness of peat restoration on wildfire risk.

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <figure> <img alt="aerial shot of green forest, patchy colours of water and peat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/751218/original/file-20260730-50-fqqxja.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C562&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" /> <figcaption> Tropical peatlands are degraded by repeated forest fires. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/topdown-aerial-drone-view-capturing-highly-2783278963">nasichsan/Shutterstock</a> </figcaption> </figure>

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/resti-salmayenti-2720802">Resti Salmayenti</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-leeds-1122">University of Leeds</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/ipb-university-2106">IPB University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dominick-spracklen-1385243">Dominick Spracklen</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-leeds-1122">University of Leeds</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joseph-holden-2745062">Joseph Holden</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-leeds-1122">University of Leeds</a>

Peatland fires in Indonesia pose a major threat to habitats, wildlife and people. That risk is exacerbated by the country’s periodic <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/el-nino-5638">El Niño</a> warming phases, which bring prolonged drought.

Massive fires have occurred in all the recent El Niño years, including 2015, 2019 and 2023. With a major El Niño building this year, there are serious concerns that Indonesia is in store for another severe fire season.

Preventing these <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/wildfires-28939">fires</a> requires more than just an emergency response. It depends on restoring degraded peatlands and reducing the conditions that allow fires to spread.

As climate change intensifies wildfire risk globally, Indonesia’s experience offers important lessons for protecting vulnerable ecosystems and communities around the world.

The national restoration programme was established just after the major droughts brought about by the El Niño of 2015. That year, Indonesia experienced <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/severe-2015-indonesian-fire-season-linked-to-el-ni%C3%B1o-drought/">severe land and peat fires</a> which saw around <a href="https://setkab.go.id/kerugian-kebakaran-hutan-2015-rp220-triliun-presiden-jokowi-minta-tahun-ini-tidak-terulang-lagi/">2.6 million hectares of land burn</a>.

Pollution and emissions from months of <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/wildfires-28939">fires</a> affected millions of people across Southeast Asia. Economic losses were estimated at more than <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/391e19f4-18f7-56c2-8c28-bb89cc9e7d6f">US$16.1 billion (£9 billion)</a>, not including the enormous <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112713005094">environmental</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/S12940-022-00872-W">health</a> consequences.

Those major fires weren’t caused solely by drought <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/adc755/meta">triggered by El Niño</a>. They were also the result of peat ecosystem damage from <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/dashboards/country/IDN/?lang=id">deforestation</a> and <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2020AV000321">canal construction</a>, plus land drainage for agriculture and other development.

In 2016, the Indonesian government <a href="https://setkab.go.id/inilah-perpres-no-1-tahun-2016-tentang-badan-restorasi-gambut/">established the Peatland Restoration Agency</a> to restore ecosystems nationally and prevent fires. By 2020, this had evolved to include mangrove forest restoration, to help build the climate resilience of Indonesian coastlines.

Although wildfire hotspot numbers declined across Indonesia once this project was established, no research had measured the effectiveness of restoration as a factor in that decline. <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2025GL121564">Our team’s recent research</a> shows that large-scale peatland restoration reduced wildfire hotspots by up to 22% in restored areas of Indonesia during the 2019 El Niño. This reduced the number of peatland fires by 38% compared with 2015.

<figure class="align-center zoomable"> <a aria-label="Zoomable image" href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/751231/original/file-20260730-50-d8b7nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="wet boggy peatland, green grasses" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/751231/original/file-20260730-50-d8b7nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/751231/original/file-20260730-50-d8b7nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/751231/original/file-20260730-50-d8b7nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/751231/original/file-20260730-50-d8b7nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/751231/original/file-20260730-50-d8b7nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/751231/original/file-20260730-50-d8b7nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/751231/original/file-20260730-50-d8b7nv.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.1&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a> <figcaption> Rewetting and restoring peatland can reduce fire risk. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/peatland-ecosystem-restoration-following-drainage-northern-2705640385">Kersti Lindstrom/Shutterstock</a> </figcaption> </figure>

<h2>The urgency of peat restoration</h2>

The restoration programme had restored around <a href="https://www.antaranews.com/berita/4725249/brgm-laporkan-capaian-restorasi-16-juta-ha-gambut">1.6 million hectares</a> of peatland by 2024. However, the continuity of this programme is <a href="https://pantaugambut.id/publikasi/kebakaran-lahan-gambut-meledak-di-awal-2026">now in question</a> because that same year, the restoration agency’s mandate <a href="https://www.tempo.co/lingkungan/pembubaran-brgm-dinilai-membuat-restorasi-gambut-makin-lemah-2081974">ended</a>, and was transferred across multiple ministries.

The current, strong <a href="https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/el-nino-forecast-intensify-increasing-likelihood-of-extreme-weather">El Niño is due to peak later in 2026</a>, leading to reduced rainfall. <a href="https://map.nusantara-atlas.org/">Hundreds of wildfire hotspots</a> have already begun appearing, including many peatland areas. Between January and June 2026, the Indonesian government recorded <a href="https://sipongi.gakkum.kehutanan.go.id/indikasi-luas-kebakaran">more than 100,000 hectares of burned land</a>.

Our study compared restored peatland areas with similar unrestored areas in Sumatra and Kalimantan. We evaluated two main rewetting restoration methods: canal blocking and deep wells.

The deep-well method is like watering a dry sponge using pumped water. When the dry season arrives and peatland begins to dry out, operators switch on pumps to draw water up from the wells. The aim is to wet the land around the well or help extinguish fires.

Canal blocking, on the other hand, keeps land wet by holding water in place so it doesn’t drain away.

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