Rimba Raya

indonesia

FoRestRy PRoject oVeRVieW

The Rimba Raya project is likely to be Indonesias first REDD+ project to sell carbon credits to the voluntary market. Within the 90,000 hectare project area, where both ecosystem restoration and sustainable agroforestry activities will take place, a 47,000 hectare conservation area--previously under threat of destruction by oil palm developers--will store carbon that can be sold as credits. Rimba Raya is a peatland forest, and peat areas store very large volumes of carbon below ground as well as in the forest biomass. This means that Rimba Raya will make a significant contribution to climate mitigation preventing the release of 96m tCO2 over 30 years.

infinite earth

Fishing provides subsistence and income to many of the 10,000 people living along the seruyan River in the project area. efforts to restore the Rimba Raya ecosystem prevent this river from drying up as a result of peatland drainage for oil palm development.

According to the Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia, forests cover around 132 million hectares or 60 percent of total land area in the country. However, conversion of forest land to oil palm and tree plantations, illicit use of fire to clear debris, encroachment and illegal logging destroy a reported 1 million hectares of forestland each year. Moreover, the lack of clear forest boundaries has led to frequent conflicts. To combat these problems, the national government has put in place eight forest policies, which have markedly curbed deforestation rates in the last two years. The Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) is currently supporting five forestry projects in Indonesia, of which Rimba Raya in Central Kalimantan Province is the largest and most advanced. The objective of all of the projects is to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) through the implementation of sustainable forest management; and subsequent sale of stored carbon as forest carbon credits. REDD is a UN Collaborative Initiative that aims to create financial value for carbon stored in forests , offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions and invest in low carbon sustainable development.

Working in PartnershiP
Since 2008, CCI has been working in partnership with the Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia and carbon finance expert Infinite Earth. In April 2010, CCI secured funding from the government of Norway Agency for Development (NORAD). The partners main goal is to establish largescale REDD+ projects in Indonesia. As the project developer, Infinite Earth took the lead in preparing a project design document and assessing the carbon stocks within the 47,000 conservation area. With CCIs support, Infinite Earth successfully achieved two rounds of validation and verification of the project according to according to the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS),

PRoject at a Glance
Type Size Community Impact Carbon Offset Potential Carbon Revenue Potential Partners Avoided deforestation total area 90,000 hectares, area for carbon credit 47,000 hectares 10,000 people 3.2m tCO2/year First sale expected 2011/2012

Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia, Infinite Earth, Orangutan Foundation International, Government of Norway Agency for Development

CLINTON CLIMATE INITIATIVE

Rimba Raya | indonesia

notes From the FielD

Deforestation is not just about cutting trees; it is also about losing biodiversity, damaging important ecosystems, and altering the lives and livelihoods of local communities. The Rimba Raya project protects a beautiful and storied expanse of tropical peat swamp forest that is home to 14 impoverished communities and dozens of endangered species, including the Bornean orangutan. Its success, and its ability to pave the way for similar projects, will stem the tide of forestland destruction that threatens global climate stability. Stephen Devenish, Southeast Asia Regional Director

contracted with the energy company Gazprom Marketing and Trading Inc to sell the projects carbon credits to companies wishing to offset emissions.

ProjeCt imPaCt
The Rimba Raya project is expected to prevent the release of 3.2 million tons of carbon dioxide each year through the conservation of 90,000 hectares of forest and peat land. Through ongoing carbon sales, it will provide a revenue stream to support future forest conservation activities as well as alternative livelihoods for local communities. In Indonesia, the project will provide a replicable model for sustainable forest management, and will pave the way for CCIs four additional REDD+ projects that are at earlier phases of development. n

which assesses carbon measurement methods. CCI also helped secure verification from the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance(CCBA), which addresses social and environmental impacts.

rimba raya Forestry site

CCi role
CCI has played an important role in establishing and advancing the Rimba Raya project, specifically:
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Providing substantial funding (using NORAD funds) to Infinite Earth to facilitate project implementation Contributing to an early feasibility study and the project design document to bring the project to validation Establishing linkages between CCI projects and Indonesias existing national forest carbon accounting systems, especially in Central Kalimantan Helping to develop benefit-sharing mechanisms for consideration by the national government and indigenous communities who live in the project area Communicating lessons learned between project partners, NGOs, and other CCI projects in Indonesia
INDoNEsIa

LEGEND

infinite earth

In the next steps, CCI will help to secure the ecosystem restoration license required from the Ministry of Forestry, so that carbon sales may proceed. CCI will also help to register and market Rimba Rayas carbon credit through its partnership with Infinite Earth, which has already