The Rimba Raya Reserve is located in Borneo’s southeast stretching almost 100 kilometers from North to South along the borders of Tanjung Puting National Park. The reserve covers around 64,000 hectares and is dedicated to the protection and preservation of many endangered species, most notably, the endangered Bornean Orangutan whose population has declined over 95% in the last century. To protect the forest areas, land use rights must be attained for the land bordering the protected areas. Thus far, and in addition to forest protection, the project financing supports 13 community based initiatives ranging from water filtration to supporting a shrimp aquaculture co-operative.
Since 1990, Indonesia has lost almost a quarter of its forest cover. Borneo‘s rainforests, like those of many tropical areas, are under constant threat from timber cutting, mining and the production of palm oil, pulp and rubber. It has been estimated that an the equivalent area of a football field is deforested every minute in Borneo's rainforests.
Protecting the peat swamp forests in Borneo is of critical importance - they alone hold up to 70 times more carbon than what is emitted annually from the burning of fossil fuels across the globe. Furthermore, the area is extraordinarily rich in biodiversity and is home to hundreds of endangered species that are under threat from over-exploitation. Offsetra see's the Rimba Raya project as a key lever in its portfolio for positive climate impact.
Rimba Raya is the first REDD project to have earned Triple Gold Validation under the Community, Climate and Biodiversity (CCB) Standard.
The CCB Program promotes excellence and innovation from the earliest stages of project design and development through implementation. CCB Standards criteria ensure that projects:
Wetlands areas are common in the Peatland Rainforests of Borneo.
