The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve REDD Project

InfiniteEARTH is committed to protecting the concession of PT.Rimba Raya, and has contracted Marc Nicolas, an internationally-­recognizedexpert experienced in peat swamp fire preventionand suppression, to develop and implement a fire plan for RimbaRaya. The document examines the current conditions of theconcession and its degraded peat swamp forest at high fire risk.The technical aspects of fire prevention, pre-­‐suppression,suppression and post-­‐suppression are explained in detail. Fireprevention includes cooperative agreements, preventioninfrastructures and fire information system. Fire pre-­‐suppressioncovers pre-­‐attack planning, fire management organization,standard operating procedures, task forces (crews, equipmentand training), awareness campaigns and patrols. Fire suppressionincludes fire command system, mobilization, firefighting andrescue operations. Fire post-­‐suppression covers identification ofburnt areas, damage assessment and rehabilitation. See thecomplete fire plan in Annex 15.totaling approximately 30,000 hectares, have been divided into40 blocks based on the cycle of tree growth in swamp forest (Seefigure 32, below). Each year, the project proponents will carryout enrichment activity in four blocks, planting seedlings ofnative dipterocarp and other appropriate tree species in areaswith an insufficient inventory of young trees.In addition, non-­‐forested areas (including shrubland, grassland,and deforested areas), totaling approximately 25,000 hectares,have been divided into 60 blocks based on proximity tocontiguous intact forest. Each year, project proponents will carryout significant rehabilitation work, planting native species such asjabon, binuang, and makaranga that thrive in exposed anddegraded conditions. By the conclusion of the project, significantstretches of forest will have been restored to their natural state,increasing carbon stocks in the Project Area and providingadditional habitat, thereby strengthening the physical bufferprotecting TPNP.Monitoring Plan. To further ensure permanence, acomprehensive Monitoring Plan has been developed to ensurethe collection and analysis of relevant climate, community, andbiodiversity data. Combining ground truthing observations,advanced remote sensing, and periodic aerial flyovers, themonitoring plan will track key indicators to ensure the integrity ofthe reserve’s carbon stocks and biodiversity and to allow projectproponents to adapt the reserve management plan to changingconditions. See the complete Carbon Monitoring PlanMethodology in Annex 16Enrichment and Rehabilitation. The project proponents havecommitted to undertaking significant enrichment andrehabilitation work inside the Project Area. Forested areas,Indigenous Species, Cash Crop, Community-­‐based Agro-­‐forestryProgram. As part of its reforestation effort, Rimba Raya willlaunch a community-­‐based, cash crop agro-­‐forestry project basedon multi-­‐story plantations of native species cash crops, includingfruit, nut, spice, and rubber trees, inter-­‐planted with rare species(such as ramin and meranti) in a matrix of secondary forestregrowth.While rubber plantations may seem counter-­‐intuitive toconservation and biodiversity, they are the most benign of allindustrial crops, having no change on soil chemistry andtherefore supporting the growth of other native species.Additionally, rubber tree plantations are a viable orangutan129