Kabut pagi menggantung di atas hamparan hutan gambut Kahayan Hilir, Kabupaten Pulang Pisau, Kalimantan Tengah. Antara genangan air berwarna hitam, Asisten Hidrologi dan Tim Penjaga Hutan (TPH) Buntoi memeriksa tinggi muka air di Hutan Desa Buntoi. Bagi mereka, menjaga air bukan sekadar rutinitas teknis, tetapi menjaga masa depan.
Tim Patroli Hutan Desa Buntoi-IKH melakukan pengukuran memeriksa Tinggi Muka Air Tanah di HD Buntoi. Sumber foto: KPSHK.
Beberapa bulan terakhir, masyarakat di desa-desa seperti Buntoi, Mantaren I, Gohong, dan Kalawa mulai mengenal istilah baru: PES atau Payment for Ecosystem Services. Istilah ini pertama kali mereka dengar melalui serangkaian survei dan pelatihan yang difasilitasi oleh tim pendamping, yang memperkenalkan konsep bahwa menjaga hutan dan ekosistem gambut tidak hanya penting untuk lingkungan, tetapi juga dapat memberikan manfaat ekonomi bagi masyarakat. PES adalah mekanisme insentif keuangan yang memberi pembayaran bersyarat kepada pihak yang menjaga dan mengelola lahan agar terus menghasilkan jasa lingkungan seperti udara bersih, air bersih, dan penyerapan karbon. Namun di balik semangat ekonomi hijau ini, muncul pertanyaan: siapa sebenarnya yang paling diuntungkan ketika jasa lingkungan dijual ke pasar global?
Dari Gambut ke Skema Ekonomi Hijau
PES bekerja dengan prinsip sederhana: pihak yang menjaga alam mendapat imbalan dari pihak lain yang menikmati manfaatnya. Jasa lingkungan itu mencakup penyerapan karbon, pengaturan air, hingga perlindungan keanekaragaman hayati.
Skema ini menjadi bagian dari strategi nasional menuju Forestry and Other Land Uses (FOLU) Net Sink 2030, ketika sektor kehutanan diharapkan menyerap lebih banyak karbon daripada yang dilepaskannya (KPSHK 2024). Namun pelaksanaannya seringkali tak sesederhana itu.
Menurut Aguswan (2023), peneliti potensi karbon di Hutan Desa Buntoi, cadangan karbon di atas permukaan dan dalam tanah gambut memiliki nilai signifikan, tetapi sangat rentan hilang jika tata kelola air diabaikan. “Nilai jasa lingkungan bisa tinggi, tapi satu kali kebakaran bisa menghapus semuanya,” kata Imam Basuki (2023), Tenaga Ahli Hidrologi Gambut KPSHK.
Desa Menjaga, Dunia Menghargai
Kahayan Hilir memiliki bentang alam khas berupa mosaik ekosistem gambut dalam, hutan rawa, dan lahan perkebunan. Kini, proyek PES mulai mengukur potensi dari berbagai aktivitas lokal: berapa hektar hutan yang dapat dijaga, berapa ton karbon yang bisa disimpan, serta berapa debit air yang mungkin dipertahankan. Namun, di tengah proses ini, masih muncul kebingungan di tingkat masyarakat mengenai apa yang sebenarnya diukur dan bagaimana hasilnya akan dimanfaatkan.
Menara Pantau di HD Mantaren I program IKH. Sumber foto: KPSHK.
“Kalau jasa lingkungan dijual, apa kami masih punya hak atas tanah?” tanya Saldi, pengurus Lembaga Pengelola Hutan Desa (LPHD) Mantaren I. Kekhawatiran itu wajar. Tanpa pendampingan yang memadai, skema PES bisa menjadi alat baru yang justru menyingkirkan masyarakat lokal dari ruang kelola mereka sendiri.
KPSHK dan Tata Kelola Sosial-Ekologis
Untuk mencegah hal itu, Konsorsium Pendukung Sistem Hutan Kerakyatan (KPSHK) menjalankan Inisiatif Kahayan Hilir (IKH) sebuah program yang tidak hanya memperkenalkan konsep jasa lingkungan, tetapi juga membangun tata kelola sosial-ekologis berbasis komunitas (KPSHK 2024).
Melalui pelatihan, warga desa belajar membaca data tinggi muka air, memantau vegetasi, hingga memperbaiki kanal. Semua kegiatan ini bukan hanya penguatan kapasitas teknis, tetapi juga langkah menuju kedaulatan data dasar penting agar masyarakat memiliki posisi tawar kuat dalam skema PES.
“Kami ingin masyarakat bukan hanya penjaga hutan, tapi pemilik sah dari jasa lingkungan yang mereka hasilkan,” ujar Alfian, Staf GIS KpSHK. Dengan cara itu, PES tidak berhenti sebagai proyek ekonomi, tetapi menjadi jalan menuju keadilan ekologis.
Antara Pasar dan Keadilan Iklim
Menurut KLHK (2024), potensi nilai ekonomi dari jasa lingkungan Indonesia bisa mencapai lebih dari 400 triliun rupiah per tahun jika dikelola dengan baik. Tapi angka besar ini akan kehilangan makna jika masyarakat adat dan lokal tidak dilibatkan dalam pengelolaan maupun pembagian manfaatnya.
KPSHK mendorong benefit-sharing mechanism yang adil, transparan, dan berbasis komunitas. Prinsipnya sederhana, hasil dari jasa lingkungan harus kembali ke desa untuk dana pencegahan kebakaran, pemberdayaan perempuan, dan penguatan usaha hasil hutan bukan kayu. “Menjaga jasa lingkungan artinya menjaga air, menjaga hidup,” kata Ganti, Ketua Tim Penjaga Hutan Mantaren I.
Ekonomi Hijau dari Akar Gambut
Bagi masyarakat Kahayan Hilir, perdagangan dan jasa lingkungan bukan sekadar transaksi atau jual beli. Melainkan cara baru melihat hubungan manusia dengan alam. Buntoi hingga Kalawa, warga belajar bahwa menjaga gambut berarti menjaga kehidupan itu sendiri.
Ketika mereka mampu memantau tinggi muka air, memetakan tutupan lahan, dan memperbaiki kanal, mereka sedang menulis ulang model perdagangan jasa lingkungan ersi desa yang tumbuh dari solidaritas, bukan spekulasi global.
Dari akar gambut yang lembab dan rapuh, mampu menumbuh kesadaran baru bahwa keberlanjutan sejati bukan tentang berapa besar dana yang masuk, tetapi seberapa kuat masyarakat berdiri menjaga hutannya sendiri.
Penulis: Alma
Editor: JW & Kiss
Referensi:
- KPSHK.org (2024) – Inisiatif Kahayan Hilir: Pengelolaan Terpadu Ekosistem Hutan Gambut.
- KLHK (2024) – Laporan FOLU Net Sink 2030.
- Aguswan, Y. (2023) – Kajian Potensi Karbon Hutan Desa Buntoi.
- Basuki, I. (2023) – Analisis Hidrologi Gambut dan Risiko Emisi di Kalimantan Tengah.
Morning mist hangs over the expanse of the Kahayan Hilir peat forest in Pulang Pisau Regency, Central Kalimantan. Amidst pools of black water, the Hydrology Assistant and the Buntoi Forest Ranger Team (TPH) check the water level in the Buntoi Village Forest. For them, water conservation is not merely a technical routine, but safeguarding the future.
The Buntoi-IKH Village Forest Patrol Team measures the groundwater level at the Buntoi HD. Photo source: KPSHK.
In recent months, communities in villages like Buntoi, Mantaren I, Gohong, and Kalawa have become familiar with a new term: PES, or Payment for Ecosystem Services. They first heard this term through a series of surveys and training sessions facilitated by a support team, which introduced the concept that preserving forests and peat ecosystems is not only important for the environment but can also provide economic benefits to the community. PES is a financial incentive mechanism that provides conditional payments to those who maintain and manage land for the continued production of environmental services such as clean air, clean water, and carbon sequestration. But behind this green economy spirit, a question arises: who actually benefits most when environmental services are sold on the global market?
From Peat to Green Economy Schemes
PES works on a simple principle: those who protect nature receive rewards from others who enjoy its benefits. These environmental services include carbon sequestration, water regulation, and biodiversity protection.
This scheme is part of the national strategy towards the Forestry and Other Land Uses (FOLU) Net Sink 2030, when the forestry sector is expected to absorb more carbon than it emits (KPSHK 2024). However, its implementation is often not that simple.
According to Aguswan (2023), a carbon potential researcher in the Buntoi Village Forest, carbon reserves above the surface and in peat soils have significant value, but are highly vulnerable to loss if water management is neglected. “The value of environmental services may be high, but a single fire can wipe it all out,” said Imam Basuki (2023), a Peat Hydrology Expert at KPSHK.
Villages Protect, the World Respects
Kahayan Hilir boasts a unique landscape consisting of a mosaic of deep peat ecosystems, swamp forests, and plantations. Now, the PES project is beginning to measure the potential of various local activities: how many hectares of forest can be protected, how many tons of carbon can be stored, and how much water flow can be maintained. However, amidst this process, confusion remains within the community about what is actually being measured and how the results will be utilized.
Monitoring Tower at HD Mantaren I IKH program. Photo source: KPSHK.
“If environmental services are sold, do we still have land rights?” asked Saldi, a manager of the Mantaren I Village Forest Management Institution (LPHD). This concern is understandable. Without adequate support, the PES scheme could become a new tool that displaces local communities from their own management space.
KPSHK and Socio-Ecological Governance
To prevent this, the Community Forest System Support Consortium (KPSHK) is implementing the Kahayan Hilir Initiative (IKH), a program that not only introduces the concept of environmental services but also builds community-based socio-ecological governance (KPSHK 2024).
Through training, villagers learn to interpret water level data, monitor vegetation, and even repair canals. All of these activities not only strengthen technical capacity but also contribute to the sovereignty of essential baseline data, which will enable communities to gain a stronger bargaining position in the PES scheme.
“We want communities to be not just guardians of the forest, but the legitimate owners of the environmental services they provide,” said Alfian, a GIS staff member at KpSHK. In this way, PES will not simply be an economic project but a path to ecological justice.
Between Markets and Climate Justice
According to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (2024), the potential economic value of Indonesia’s environmental services could reach more than 400 trillion rupiah per year if properly managed. But this substantial figure will be meaningless if indigenous and local communities are not involved in the management and distribution of benefits.
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry promotes a fair, transparent, and community-based benefit-sharing mechanism. The principle is simple: proceeds from environmental services must be returned to the village to fund fire prevention, women’s empowerment, and strengthening non-timber forest product businesses. “Maintaining environmental services means protecting water, protecting life,” said Ganti, Head of the Mantaren I Forest Guard Team.
A Green Economy from Peat Roots
For the people of Kahayan Hilir, trade in environmental services is not simply a transaction or sale. It is a new way of viewing the relationship between humans and nature. From Buntoi to Kalawa, residents are learning that protecting peat means protecting life itself.
When they are able to monitor water levels, map land cover, and repair canals, they are rewriting the village-based environmental services trade model, one that grows from solidarity, not global speculation.
From the moist and fragile roots of peat, a new awareness is growing that true sustainability is not about how much funding comes in, but how strongly communities stand to protect their own forests.
Author: Alma
Editor: JW & Kiss
References:
KPSHK.org (2024) – Kahayan Hilir Initiative: Integrated Management of Peat Forest Ecosystems.
Ministry of Environment and Forestry (2024) – FOLU Net Sink Report 2030.
Aguswan, Y. (2023) – Study of Forest Carbon Potential in Buntoi Village.
Basuki, I. (2023) – Analysis of Peat Hydrology and Emission Risks in Central Kalimantan.
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