The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve protects 65,000 hectares of critically threatened peatland rainforest on the southern coast of Borneo in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, a country losing forest cover roughly the size of Belgium each year.
Rimba Raya aims to reduce Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions, the third greatest in the world largely due to deforestation and the destruction of peatland, by preventing the conversion of this ecosystem to palm oil plantations. In doing so, Rimba Raya will avoid over 130 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over its 30 year lifetime, and protect key habitat for more than 50 endangered species, including the Bornean Orangutan. Climate finance funds project activities engaging local communities to build a commercially, socially and environmentally viable model of conservation. Rimba Raya is the world’s first REDD+ project to be verified under the SD VISta Standard as working towards all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Measurable impacts
Here are the impacts for the Rimba Raya project:
CLIMATE
Avoiding 130 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over its 30 year lifetime
ECOSYSTEMS
Protecting 65,000 hectares of critically threatened peatland forest
SPECIES
Protecting and restoring habitat for unique and endangered species such as the Bornean Orangutan, Storm’s Stork and the Borneo Bay Cat
LIVELIHOODS
2,500 community members benefiting from improved livelihoods or income as a result of project activities
INCLUSIVITY
Promoting employment for women, with 98% of women in one Rimba Raya village self-employed in an award winning sustainable shrimp paste enterprise
SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISE
Supporting local enterprises such as eco-tourism, co-op agroforestry and restoration and low impact sustainable aquaculture
Sustainable Development Goals
The Rimba Raya project is the world’s first REDD+ project to be verified under the SD VISta standard as contributing to all 17 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals:
All photos copyright InfiniteEARTH/Rimba Raya.