Mega Rice Project
The Mega Rice Project was initiated in 1996 in the southern sections of Kalimantan, the Indonesian section of Borneo. The goal was to turn one million hectares of unproductive and sparsely populated peat swamp forest into rice paddies in an effort to allieviate Indonesia's growing food shortage. The government made a large investment in constructing irrigation canals and removing trees. The project did not suceeed, and was eventually abandoned.
Location
Southern Borneo ... Peat Swamp Forest ... Population ... Dayak way of life ... Ecology
Plan
Growing population ... Suharto ... food requirements ... loss of agricultural lands ... tree value ... promise
Implementation
Canals ... logging roads ... railways ... migration
Results
Peat drying & burning ... extent of devastation ... impact on Orang Utans etc. ... broader effects: acid, co2 etc.
Aftermath
Abdandonment of project ... wasteland ... continued fires ... immigrant / local conflicts ... conservation efforts ... restoration