The announcement of the USD $1 million Indonesian Peat Prize on February 2, 2018 has generated considerable international attention, spanning world news, climate mitigation, philanthropy, conservation and science communities.
Two years ago, Context Partners helped the Indonesian government launch the USD $1 million prize to surface a faster, more innovative method to map peatlands. Peatland conservation has gained importance in climate mitigation circles because these landscapes store one-third of the world’s soil carbon. They are especially important for meeting Indonesia’s climate commitments. To learn more about our role on this project, read the project case study.
Scientists from Indonesia, Germany and the Netherlands win Indonesian Peat Prize
A team of scientists from Indonesia, Germany and the Netherlands has won a competition two years in the making to come up with a fast, accurate and cost-effective way to map Indonesia’s vast tropical peatlands—an all-important carbon sink that the government wants to conserve.
NEW YORK TIMES
… and the agony of the peat
Indonesia has a peat problem, and it just awarded a $1 million prize to help solve it.
A niche environmental prize—with huge global stakes
The thing that’s so compelling about the Indonesian Peat Prize is that the problem it seeks to solve is as narrowly focused as it is important.
Peatland mappers win $1million to help tackle Indonesian haze fires
An award-winning method for mapping Indonesia’s vast peatlands, developed by Dutch, German and Indonesian scientists, will help the Southeast Asian nation tackle annual fires that harm health in the region, the organizers of the prize said on Friday.
GLOBAL FOREST WATCH
To save Indonesia’s carbon-rich peatlands, start by mapping them
On World Wetlands Day on February 2nd, Indonesia’s Geospatial Information Agency (BIG) will announce the winner of a competition to come up with the best method for mapping the nation’s peatlands.
Indonesia wants to protect its peatlands—but first it needs to figure out where they are
How the Indonesian Peat Prize hopes to create a new standard in peat-mapping technology
Competitions: Grand challenges
Scientists lured by big-prize competitions should weigh contests’ aims and non-monetary benefits before entering.
Indonesia’s Wildfires Are a Climate Disaster. Can Portland Help Douse the Flames?
A local design company thinks it can help solve a fiery carbon conundrum.