The partnership was officially ratified on Wednesday, March 10th 2021, through a ceremonial signing by Dr. Rike Yudianti, LIPI’s Head of Physics Research Center, and Dharsono Hartono, Chief Executive Officer of Katingan Mentaya Project. "This is the first time that an industrial/private sector partner has warmly welcomed scientific publications," Dr. Rike Yudianti said, “We are proud that LIPI’s scientific products are able to benefit the advancement of science and technology and Katingan Mentaya Project in the future.”

The partnership itself was established through mutual values of research and knowledge. “You cannot separate peat from water,” Taryono Darusman, General Field Manager of Katingan Mentaya Project explained, “With that, we have negotiated a partnership with LIPI to write scientific journals based on findings we find from the field”. The partnership would tie a collaborative effort in which Katingan Mentaya Project would facilitate hydrological data taken from the project area that would then be used for further research by LIPI. “Hydrological data from KMP itself could be considered as champion data, which is unique and could hardly be found anywhere else,” added Albertus, who will lead of this research partnership.

“We are always open to working with people and parties who are more informed or are experts in their fields,” Hartono stated, “Moving on together, we hope that this partnership may help our activities in protecting peatlands, preventing the release of carbon emissions, and improving the welfare of the surrounding communities.”