Kabut tipis masih menggantung pada awal Oktober pagi itu, ketika sebuah perahu kayu kecil melaju pelan di kanal tua Desa Buntoi, Kalimantan Tengah. Kanal ini sisa dari Proyek Lahan Gambut Sejuta Hektar tahun 1995 bekas luka yang lama terbuka. Setelah proyek itu berhenti pada 1999, lahan kering dan mudah terbakar, melepaskan karbon dan menghancurkan ruang hidup masyarakat. “Kalau dibiarkan rusak terus, bukan cuma kami yang kehilangan, tapi anak-anak kami nanti tak lagi kenal hutan,” ujar Abdul Azis, Peat Restoration Manager yang mendampingi warga sejak awal upaya pemulihan.
Perahu tersebut bukan memuat hasil buruan atau rotan melainkan tumpukan bibit belangeran dan jelutung. Bibit tanaman untuk memulihkan ruang hidup dan membangun harapan baru bagi Masyarakat di Hutan Desa Kalawa, Gohong, Mantaren I, dan Buntoi. Setidaknya mereka bisa mengubur sisa masa kelam akibat kebakaran Tahun 2015 yang melenyapkan ekosistem gambut seluas hampir 14.994 hektar (Data Digitasi Tim GIS KPSHK).
Pemulihan lahan gambut yang menitikberatkan pada aspek hidrologi dan vegetasi menjadi bagian penting dari Inisiatif Kahayan Hilir yang dimulai sejak tahun 2022. Mendukung pemulihan vegetasi, dipilih beberapa jenis tanaman khas gambut seperti belangeran, jelutung, pulai, dan ramin. Sementara itu, guna memperkuat ekonomi masyarakat, ditanam pula Multi Purpose Tree Species (MPTS) seperti paken, matoa, dan petai, yang mampu memberikan manfaat ekologis sekaligus hasil bernilai ekonomi.
Rawa Gambut di Kahayan Hilir, Pulang Pisau. Sumber foto: KPSHK.
Pertengahan Tahun 2025, upaya pemulihan lahan gambut melalui program Inisiatif Kahayan Hilir (IKH) telah menamam lebih dari 18.200 bibit di Hutan Desa Mantaren I. Langkah perluasan, masyarakat bersama Lembaga Pengeloha Hutan Desa (LPHD) sedang menyiapkan perluasan area tanam hingga 75 hektar tambahan. “Kalau dulu kami lihat tanah ini seperti mati, sekarang mulai ada hijau lagi,” kata Pirit, Ketua LPHD Mantaren I. “Kami seperti menanam kehidupan baru di atas abu yang lama.”
Menurut data penanaman dari Tim GIS KPSHK, Hutan Desa Kalawa mencatat capaian penanaman 7.600 bibit dari target 18.101 bibit yang direncanakan pada tahun 2025. Hutan Desa Gohong telah menanam 4.667 bibit serta menyiapkan pembukaan area tanam baru seluas 25 hektare. Hutan Desa Buntoi menjalankan kegiatan penanaman hingga menjangkau 50 hektare. Perlahan, keempat desa tersebut menapaki arah baru, menghidupkan kembali hamparan gambut yang pernah sekarat.
Keberhasilan program IKH tidak hanya diukur dari jumlah bibit yang ditanam, tetapi dari berapa banyak yang mampu bertahan hidup. LPHD membentuk tim KAPHIL, yang menjaga bibit di Tempat Penyimpanan Sementara (TPS), memantau pertumbuhan, dan mencatat jumlah bibit hidup maupun mati. “Bagi kami, keberhasilan bukan di angka tanam, tapi di angka tumbuh,” ujar Aftrinal S. Lubis, Program Manager KPSHK. “Kalau sekadar tanam, itu mudah. Tapi memastikan mereka hidup, itu perjuangan.”
Kawasan yang dulu menjadi pusat kebakaran perlahan berubah menjadi ruang pemulihan. Mantaren I mulai tergenang kembali, air memenuhi kubah gambut yang lama mengering. Kalawa menumbuhkan akar-akar belangeran muda yang menancap kuat di tanah basah. Gohong serta Buntoi menampilkan semangat warga yang menanam pohon buah pada lahan penyangga guna menjaga keberlanjutan ekonomi keluarga.
Pemulihan gambut bukan sekadar pekerjaan teknis, melainkan perjalanan kesadaran. “Restorasi ini bukan cuma untuk hutan,” kata Abdul Azis sambil menatap kanal yang kini dipenuhi tanaman muda. “Ini tentang masa depan kami sendiri. Tentang keyakinan bahwa hutan bisa hidup lagi.” Tangan-tangan masyarakat telah memulihkan dan membangun kehidupan baru di hutan gambut Kahayan.
Penulis: Alma
Editor: JW & Kiss
A thin mist still hung in the air that early October morning, as a small wooden boat moved slowly along the old canal of Buntoi Village, Central Kalimantan. This canal is a remnant of the 1995 One Million Hectare Peatland Project, a long-exposed wound. After the project ceased in 1999, the land became dry and flammable, releasing carbon and destroying the community’s living space. “If we let it continue to deteriorate, it won’t just be us who will lose it, but our children will never know the forest again,” said Abdul Azis, the Peat Restoration Manager who has been assisting the residents since the beginning of the restoration efforts.
The boat wasn’t carrying game or rattan, but rather a pile of belangeran and jelutung seedlings. These seedlings were intended to restore living space and build new hope for the communities living in the Kalawa, Gohong, Mantaren I, and Buntoi Village Forests. At least they could bury the dark remnants of the 2015 fires that destroyed nearly 14,994 hectares of peatland ecosystem (Data Digitized by the KPSHK GIS Team).
Peatland restoration, emphasizing hydrology and vegetation, is a key component of the Kahayan Hilir Initiative, which began in 2022. Several peatland species, such as belangeran, jelutung, pulai, and ramin, were selected to support vegetation restoration. Meanwhile, to strengthen the community’s economy, Multi-Purpose Tree Species (MPTS) such as paken, matoa, and petai, which provide both ecological and economic benefits, were also planted.
Peat Swamp in Kahayan Hilir, Pulang Pisau. Photo source: KPSHK.
By mid-2025, peatland restoration efforts through the Kahayan Hilir Initiative (IKH) program had planted more than 18,200 seedlings in the Mantaren I Village Forest. To expand, the community, along with the Village Forest Management Institution (LPHD), is preparing to expand the planting area to an additional 75 hectares. “Previously, we saw this land as dead, but now it’s starting to look green again,” said Pirit, Head of the Mantaren I LPHD. “It’s like we’re planting new life on the ashes of the old.”
According to planting data from the KPSHK GIS Team, the Kalawa Village Forest has planted 7,600 seedlings out of a target of 18,101 seedlings planned for 2025. The Gohong Village Forest has planted 4,667 seedlings and is preparing to open a new planting area of ​​25 hectares. The Buntoi Village Forest is carrying out planting activities to cover 50 hectares. Slowly, these four villages are treading a new path, revitalizing the once-dying peatlands.
The success of the IKH program is not only measured by the number of seedlings planted, but also by how many survive. The LPHD has formed a KAPHIL team, which maintains the seedlings in the Temporary Storage Area (TPS), monitors their growth, and records the number of live and dead seedlings. “For us, success isn’t in the number of seedlings planted, but in the number of seedlings that grow,” said Aftrinal S. Lubis, Program Manager of KPSHK. “Just planting is easy. But ensuring they survive is a struggle.”
The area that was once the center of the fires is slowly transforming into a recovery area. Mantaren I is starting to re-flood, water filling the long-dried peat dome. Kalawa is sprouting young belangeran roots that are firmly anchored in the wet soil. Gohong and Buntoi showcase the enthusiasm of residents who plant fruit trees on buffer zones to maintain their families’ economic sustainability.
Peat restoration is not just a technical task, but a journey of awareness. “This restoration isn’t just for the forest,” said Abdul Azis, gazing at the canal now filled with young plants. “It’s about our own future. About the belief that the forest can live again.” Community hands have restored and built new life in the Kahayan peat forest.
Author: Alma
Editor: JW & Kiss
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