Preserving Borneos richly biodiverse tropical peat swamp forests and improving local lives
The Rimba Raya peat swamp forests are located in Central Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo in Indonesia. Before the project was established, these immensely biodiverse tropical peatlands were scheduled for conversion into four palm oil estates by the provincial government.
The average salary is 300% higher than the national poverty line, and over 200% higher than the Seruyan minimum wage
1000 chickens and 668 units of shrimp paste produced and sold on average each year
23% of employees are women and 12 women own and operate chicken farms and shrimp paste businesses
throughout nine villages
with 73 field staff personnel hired from 14 villages to support with monitoring the project
on average annually by protecting the reserve from deforestation
5.7 tonnes of garbage collected from the Seruyan River and its shores and 20,000 mangrove seeds planted
from conversion to palm oil, this is critical biodiversity habitat
The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve Project, an initiative by InfiniteEARTH, aims to reduce Indonesia’s emissions by preserving 91,215 hectares of tropical peat swamp forest. This area, rich in biodiversity including the endangered Bornean orangutan, was slated by the Provincial government to be converted into four palm oil estates. Located on the southern coast of Borneo in the province of Central Kalimantan, the project is also designed to protect the integrity of the adjacent world‐renowned Tanjung Putting National Park, by creating a physical buffer zone on the full extent of the ~90km eastern border of the park.
The Rimba Raya project not only sequesters carbon and protects habitat for local wildlife; it also promotes local sustainable development, particularly regarding environmental education and economic capacity building. The project employs 73 field staff personnel, 18 of whom are women, and provides other project-related jobs to another 22 local women. The project further focuses on female capacity building by providing financial support for chicken meat and egg working groups, and for recyclable handicrafts. Project activities also promote community education, with two village libraries built in 2016 and two more planned for construction.
