Sumatra is home to approximately 6.3 million hectares, or 33 %, of Indonesia’s tropical freshwater wetlands (RePPProT 1990). These inland freshwater wetlands include both peat and alluvial swamps. Tropical peatlands in particular are important components of the global carbon cycle and are of interest to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They store as much as 2150 to 2875 t C/ha (Chokkalingam et al. in prep., Maltby and Immirzi 1993) with overall sequestration rates of 0.01-0.03 Gt C/year (Neuzil 1997). Wetlands also play a key role in hydrological regulation. They are important water catchment and control systems, regulating flows, mitigating floods and preventing saline water intrusion (Rieley et al. 1997). In addition, the freshwater wetlands of Indonesia are major breeding grounds and suppliers of fish for domestic consumption and export (Giesen and Sukotjo 1991, MacKinnon et al. 1996). Lowland swamp forests are also important for their biodiversity (Rieley et al. 1996, Shephard et al. 1997) and are of interest to the International Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Peat forests often contain valuable timber species of importance for local and national economies, however, commercial extraction of timber is considered to be unsustainable in peatlands (Dwiyono and Rachman 1996). The key values of wetlands suggested above are recognized by the international community through the Ramsar convention which seeks to foster national action and international cooperation to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Indonesia, as a party to the CBD and the Ramsar convention, is committed to the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Tropical wetlands also provide valuable livelihood opportunities for the rural poor, including construction timber, materials for weaving, herbs for consumption and medicinal purposes, and fish for protein. In southern Sumatra many local communities have used wetlands for their livelihoods for anywhere between the past 50 and 200 years.