Implementation of Circular Economy in Peatlands to Support Sustainable Food Security in Post Covid-19 Era

Abstract

The peatlands in Indonesia have changed quite a lot in recent years due to over-exploitation and climate change. The land-use change on peatlands resulted in soil infertility. The impacts of the degradation of peatlands are almost certain to worsen with the COVID-19 pandemic because the peatlands have an important role in providing food resources. Therefore, the peatlands restoration must be carried out considering the importance of the peatlands as food resources and carbon capture. One of the alternative solutions is to recycle the waste from agroforestry into organic fertiliser. This study aimed to investigate the application of organic fertiliser to restore soil fertility in the peatlands. The study also offered the circular economy scheme that can be applied in the peatlands to restore sustainability. The results showed that the degraded peatland that has been restored by adding organic fertiliser from local sources has a higher soil pH level than the one without adding organic fertiliser. The increase in pH level can decrease soil hydrophobicity and increase microorganism activities, encouraging biodiversity in the peatlands. In this study, the circular economy scheme by the integration between agroforestry and livestock was assessed economically and environmentally. Recycling cows’ manure and leaf litter from peatlands into energy and recycling biogas sludge into biochar for biogas purification and soil enrichment benefit economically and contribute to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.