Denis Ruysschaert (1, Ian Singleton (2, and Susilo Sudarman (3
(1,2 PanEco Foundation,
Chileweg-5, Berg am Irchel, CH-8415, Switzerland.
3) Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari,
Jl. K.H. Wahid Hasyim No 51/74, Medan 20154, Indonesia.

The three remaining coastal peat swamps of Aceh’s West coast (Tripa, Kluet and Trumon-Singkil) were impacted by the 2004 tsunami disaster, and the later earthquake in Nias, but acted as an efficient buffer zone, protecting local people and providing local livelihoods.

In Tripa, however, the ongoing conversion to palm oil estates has catastrophic consequences for the Aceh reconstruction process and future Tsunami preparedness. This paper examines the value of this unique ecosystem, and the impact of palm-oil conversion on local people, climate change and biodiversity.

Given what is known of the long-term effects of converting peatland to mono-culture oil palm plantations the paper provides substantial evidence that the current palm-oil conversion is extremely short-sighted. It directly threatens the livelihoods of local communities, it contributes to climate change, and it drives a unique biotope to extinction. At the same time, it provides little or no long-term improvement in livelihoods in the area. The paper concludes that the current coastal peatswamp forest conversion into oil palm concessions undermines the whole reconstruction process, by destroying an invaluable and irreplaceable buffer zone, and by reducing the resilience of local communities to cope with extreme events, such as the Tsunami.