Conservation Concessions Could be the Way Forward for Restoration and Protection of Peatland Forests?

Conservation Concessions have been an interesting approach that tried to restore and conserve ecologically important high conservation value areas in productive landscapes in Indonesia. Several NGOs and private sector companies have applied this Conservation Concession model with support including government, donors, and companies. Here we will discuss case studies from a Ramsar Wetland site and the Sebangau National Park in Central Kalimantan, Bukit Tiga Puluh in Jambi, and the Kampar Peninsula in Riau. We present lessons learned from peatland restoration led by different organizations in a national park, a site led by WWF Indonesia, and a site run by a private company. The integrated production-protection models show a potential way to achieve environmental as well as social and economic objectives. Would this be a new model of partnership between the private sector, government, and communities to reach more sustainable forest management goals? Have people in these areas been better able to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic?