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nvironmentalists have hailed the government’s decision to issue a total ban on the clearing of carbon-rich peatland across Indonesia through the revision of a government regulation on peatland protection, despite skepticism about whether the policy will be fully implemented.

The revision, which was signed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo into law on Dec. 1, will prohibit the draining and clearing of not only new peatland, but also concession land previously licensed to plantation companies.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said the ban could slash greenhouse-gas emissions and prevent disastrous peat fires that had plagued the region in recent years.

“This is an extremely positive and historic decision, both for Indonesia and for global efforts to tackle climate change. Such a moratorium has the potential to deliver huge health benefits for the Indonesian people, protect the country’s incredible environment and deliver one of the biggest commitments yet to the implementation of the Paris Agreement,” UNEP head Erik Solheim said, adding that the moratorium was an example of the kind of leadership that the world needed right now.

Peatland stores a massive amount of carbon. When it is drained or burned, often for the production of commodities like palm oil and wood fiber, they release the carbon into the atmosphere.

An analysis by the World Resources Institute (WRI) has found that draining a single hectare of tropical peatland is roughly equivalent to burning more than 6,000 gallons of gasoline.

During several days in 2015, fires on Indonesia’s peatland exceeded daily emissions from the entire United States economy.

As peatland stores a huge amount of carbon, the new ban could help Indonesia cut up to 7.8 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, equivalent to roughly all the annual greenhouse gases emitted by the US, according to the WRI.

“By strengthening the efforts to prevent damage to peatland such as by banning virtually all conversion of peatland to plantations and by encouraging peat restoration, this regulation will be a major contribution to the Paris climate agreement and a relief to millions of Indonesians who suffer the effects of toxic haze from peat fires,” WRI Indonesia director Nirarta Samadhi said.

He applauded the new regulation, which was a revision of Government Regulation No. 71/2014 on peatland protection, for building on a strong set of existing policies, including a 2011 Presidential Instruction that prevented the issuance of new permits for use of primary natural forest and peatland.

Likewise, Herry Purnomo, a scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and professor at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), said he expected the new regulation would be instrumental in stopping the annual peatland and forest fires.

“However, the implementation won’t be easy,” he said.

Herry pointed out that to enforce the moratorium would require a massive amount of resources, from the police and other law enforcement institutions.

He said the government should provide alternatives to farmers and companies, now that they were not allowed to clear peatland, until the government finished determining whether a peatland area was supposed to be a conservation zone or a cultivation zone.

It the peatland area is deemed to be safe for cultivation, permit owners should conduct land clearance sustainably using equipment like tractors, not burning.

“Clearing peatland sustainably is easy by using tractors but they’re not cheap. So let’s say people agree not to burn, but where are the tractors? And if they want to use money from carbon trading, where’s the money?” Herry said.

According to the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG), the ban takes effect immediately.

The new regulation follows an announcement in April by Jokowi that he planned to push through a moratorium on new permits for oil palm plantations. It also comes after the 2015 haze crisis, which saw air pollution caused partly by peatland fires hitting record levels.