Community Participation on Peat Restoration Policy for Forest Fire Rescue and Land in Sungai Tohor Village Meranti Island Riau Province Sumatra Indonesia

Abstract: Peat ecosystem is an element of peat structure, which is a whole unified that affect each other in forming balance, stability, and productivity. Hydrological Unity of Peat (HUP) is a peat ecosystem located between two rivers, between the river and sea, and or on the swamp. Peat Ecosystem is function as an element of peat that serves to protect water availability, biodiversity conservation, oxygen-producing carbon storage, climate balance divided into protected functions of peat ecosystem and peat ecosystem cultivation function. Damage to the function of peat ecosystems occurs due to mismanagement of land with the selection of business commodities that are not in accordance with the characteristics of peat lands. This is exacerbated by the draining of peat water resulting in a drought on peat that is currently the trigger for forest and land fires. Facts in the field show that fires that occur almost every year with an ever-increasing area are the fact that peat is no longer in natural conditions or has been damaged. Restoration of peat ecosystems can be done by rearranging of hydrological functions where the peat dome as long storage of water, so that peat remains wet and difficult to burn and disasters that have implications directly to the community in the region. Community participation in reducing and avoiding disaster risk is important by raising community awareness and capacity for disaster risk reduction. This research explains how the Community Participation on Peat Restoration Policy in Tohor Village, Meranti Regency. This participation results in changes to peat restoration policies. The Tohor River is a success area for peat restoration in Indonesia that can lead to forest and land fires in Sumatra.