The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve REDD Project

triggered by palm-­‐oil companies using uncontrolled burning toclear land.Orangutans inhabit lowland dipterocarp, freshwater and peat-­swampforests, the same forests targeted for conversion to oilpalm plantation. In the decade between 1992 and 2003,orangutan habitat declined by more than 5.5 million hectares,while the plantation area across Borneo and Sumatra increasedby almost 4.7 million hectares. It has been estimated that thefires of 1997/98 alone were responsible for the loss of one-­‐thirdof Borneo’s orangutan population – a massive step back in theconservation effort to save this species from extinction.The Bornean Orangutan is found in the Indonesian provinces ofWest, Central and East Kalimantan, and the Malaysian states ofSabah and Sarawak. Extensive fieldwork and improved surveytechniques over the past decade have revealed that there maybe higher numbers of orangutan on Borneo than previouslythought, and the population is estimated to stand at around47,000 individuals. During this time, however, the rate ofdeforestation has escalated. Forests across the Borneanorangutan’s entire range are under pressure from illegal loggingand conversion to oil-­‐palm plantations, and habitatfragmentation is a significant issue across the island.Experts have identified a number of key habitat areas that arecrucial for the continued existence of orangutan in the wild.Within Central Kalimantan, two-­‐thirds of the priority areas can beconsidered at risk of conversion. Recent habitat analysis revealedthat in 2002, the total area of orangutan habitat remaining inKalimantan was about 8.5 million hectares, divided into 306distinct habitat units. To compound the problem offragmentation, the majority of the forest is now classified asdegraded.Degraded forests support a lower density of orangutans thanprimary forests. Furthermore, degradation makes these forestsmore likely to be reclassified as ‘conversion forest’ – destined tobe clear cut and converted to oil-­‐palm plantations. ConsideringBorneo’s deforestation rate of 1.3million hectares per year, theoutlook for the Bornean orangutan is not favorable.‘Without-­‐project’ effects on biodiversity within the Project ZoneTanjung Puting National Park (TPNP) is world-­‐renowned for itsorangutan population. With a population of 5,000 individuals,representing 10% of the global orangutan population, the Parkmakes an essential contribution to the protection and continuedsurvival of the Bornean orangutan. Rimba Raya is an importantpart of greater Tanjung Puting National Park, and its large forestblocks adjacent to the park augment TPNP orangutanpopulations by an estimated 14%. Additionally, Rimba Raya’smosaic of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems house hundreds ofspecies of flora and fauna and provide habitat for many rare andendangered species. A recent study of the Project ManagementZone documented high biodiversity including 361 species ofbirds, 122 species of mammals, and 180 species of trees andwoody plants likely to be present in the project area.Orangutan populations and most of Rimba Raya’s biodiversitywould be lost with conversion to palm oil, the most likely‘without-­‐project’ scenario. The park’s northern border alreadyconsists of palm-­‐oil plantations and there has been a history ofencroachment and other negative impacts by plantations on thepark. In December 2002 as much as 30,000 tonnes of palm-­‐oilmill effluent leaked into the Sekonyer River after settling ponds124