Jakarta, Oct. 2 -- Indonesia's environment minister has urged companies to step up support for peatland restoration, calling on the private sector to empower communities living near concession areas.

Speaking at the Peat Ecosystem Restoration Collaboration Forum in Jakarta on Thursday, Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said the government is targeting the management of 2,354 Peat-Caring Independent Villages (DMPG), with 1,450 villages needing direct backing from businesses because of their location in concession buffer zones.

Nurofiq said regulations already cover concession areas spanning 500,000 to nearly one million hectares.

"Perhaps they don't know exactly how to restore peatland, so I asked that we provide training for their workforce to give...