Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve
The reserve is located on the island of Borneo in the Province of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, where ever-expanding palm oil plantations have wreaked havoc on the forest and the communities and wildlife that depend on it. The project provides a critical buffer to the Tanjung Puting National Park, home to world-renowned Camp Leakey research centre and is bounded by the Java Sea to the south, and the Seruyan River to the east.
Verra is a leading global standards organisation that develops and manages frameworks to measure, track, and certify various environmental and social impacts. Their flagship program, the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), is one of the world’s most widely used voluntary carbon market standards, ensuring that carbon credits represent real, additional, and permanent emission reductions.
The Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards managed by Verra focus on land management projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions while delivering net-positive benefits to local communities and biodiversity. These standards are designed to foster integrated, sustainable development outcomes alongside verified carbon reductions.
The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve, an expanse nearly equivalent to the size of Singapore, encompasses 64,000 hectares of diverse tropical peat swamp forest. This unique ecosystem boasts up to 1,000 plant and animal species per hectare, making it one of the planet's most critically endangered environments. Within this expansive area, ongoing initiatives prioritise environmental conservation, community engagement, and climate regulation. Rimba Raya stands as the largest privately funded orangutan reserve globally, hosting one of the last relic populations of wild orangutans. Moreover, it serves as one of the world's major carbon repositories. As the world's largest REDD+ project (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), Rimba Raya is at the forefront of environmental efforts. The pioneering project developer, InfiniteEARTH, introduced the world's inaugural REDD methodology in 2009.
Fauna diversity
The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve serves as a sanctuary for 122 mammal species and 300 bird species, with a notable population of the endangered Borneo Orangutan. Originally inhabiting tropical forests across Thailand, Southern China, Malaysia, and Indonesia, this great ape species is now restricted to fragmented areas on Sumatra and Borneo islands.
Flora diversity
The reserve boasts diverse vegetation, including mangrove swamps, wetlands, freshwater swamp forests, peat swamp forests, heath vegetation, and lowland mixed dipterocarp forests. Historical environmental disturbances such as logging, burning, and agriculture have influenced the vegetation types, resulting in changes like post-fire shrubland and regenerating logged forests.
Projects and initiatives
Community outreach
In collaboration with Infinite Earth, the Rimba Raya project has initiated community programs addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Focused on the welfare of marginalised women and children, these initiatives aim to provide alternative income streams, prevent deforestation-linked industries, and offer essential resources like water filters, cookstoves, and subsidised healthcare.
Biodiversity preservation
The Rimba Raya REDD+ project strives to halt deforestation in Central Kalimantan, which contributes over 75% of Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions. Partnering with renowned Primatologist Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, the project aims to provide natural habitats for endangered orangutans. Additionally, it supports the Orangutan Foundation International and their care center, working towards reintroducing rehabilitated orangutans into the wild within the Rimba Raya Reserve.
Education
A long-term goal is to provide education to all children in and around the concession, including supplies, uniforms, and scholarships. Libraries have been established, and scholarships are awarded to dedicated children through cooperation with local governments. Since 2015, InfiniteEARTH has provided scholarship funds to 35 schools as part of the Rimba Raya initiative.
Floating clinic
Introduced in 2016, the Rimba Raya floating clinic enhances health practices by providing child nutritional programs and health services to 10 villages along the Seruyan River. This initiative overcomes previous challenges of inaccessibility and affordability, offering rural health services, family planning, prenatal care, and health education outreach programs.
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