Peat Education, why is it Important? The peat ecosystem in the Kubu Raya Regency is a natural resource that plays an important role in people's livelihoods. Unfortunately, peat ecosystems are often poorly managed due to a lack of knowledge about their characteristics and best management practices. As a result, various problems such as fires and the destruction of natural habitats often occur. Therefore, the Kubu Raya Regency Government and World Agroforestry (ICRAF) Indonesia joined forces with the #PahlawanGambut programme of Peat-IMPACTS to try to convey knowledge about peat management needs through formal education as early as in elementary school. However, despite extensive research, the existing results still need to be further reviewed and adjusted so that they can be understood by school children. 
ICRAF has been part of the process of developing the local peat curriculum. The process was jointly initiated with the Kubu Raya Regency, which is one of the most forward-looking and progressive districts in educating its young generation, through the Education and Culture Office. After a long process that involved the determination of the scope of the curriculum, the adjustment of the existing curriculum, the development of teaching material, a test period, and a final adjustment, the curriculum was eventually launched at the event “Launching the local content curriculum for peat and mangroves in Kubu Raya Regency” at Gardenia Resort, Kubu Raya, on 30 November 2022.

Dr. Sonya Dewi, the Director of ICRAF Indonesia, expressed her deepest gratitude and appreciation to the Government of the Kubu Raya Regency for its strong commitment and consistency towards the preservation and sustainability of peat ecosystems in the Kubu Raya Regency. 
She added that last year, Indonesia had just committed itself, like the global community, to the Long-Term Strategy for Low Carbon Development and Climate Resilience. One of the important things is Indonesia's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. In other words, Indonesia needs to achieve net zero cumulative emissions and sequestration. In the document, the word “peat” is mentioned 27 times, far more often than “biodiversity” and even “conservation”. This shows that peat ecosystems have been recognised as playing an important role in achieving Indonesia's climate change management targets.

The Regent of Kubu Raya, Muda Mahendrawan, said that he took pride in the fact that for the first time peatlands had been integrated into the school curriculum in Indonesia, particularly at the elementary and junior high school levels. 
The success of compiling the content on local peatlands for the curriculum cannot be separated from the active participation of teaching staff, school managers, supervisors, and development partners in the process. This active partnership is important to continue to build and maintain the future development of content on local peatlands.

Strengthening the capacity of teaching staff in understanding peat ecosystems and developing teaching materials is key to implementing the peat curriculum at the district level; and for learning about and understanding peat ecosystems for all students in the Kubu Raya Regency, West Kalimantan. 
The Kubu Raya Regency will continue to implement peat education in Kubu Raya with the spirit of simultaneously encouraging innovation to help young Indonesians understand and implement the knowledge they acquired at school in protecting peat ecosystems for the welfare and environmental sustainability in Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.