The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve REDD Project

Pembuang Hulu and Tanjung Hanau region.Beginning in early 2006, the oil palm plantationdeveloped by PT. KUCC adjacent to TPNP opened anumber of new roads, providing direct access from theplantation to the Seruyan River to facilitate clearing. As istypical during plantation development, land was clearedusing heavy equipment and the cleared material wasstacked for burning.Under normal circumstances, fires used to dispose of thecleared material can be controlled, but during theprolonged dry season of 2006, fires set for land clearingburned out of control, spreading to other areas.In addition, a number mines that formerly produced goldwere in use at the time by local people mining zirconsand. Miners used fire to clear overgrown roads leadingto the mines, and these fires may also have spread tosurrounding forest areas.Baung and SigintungFigure 34. Map of recent fire’s location & directionThe Baung area is best classified as seasonal swamp. Dueto changing precipitation patterns, this area is typicallyflooded during the wet season and dry during the dryseason. During prolonged dry seasons, the nearbyseasonal lake, which can be travelled only by canoeduring the wet season, is traversable on foot. The area ishighly prone to fire because vegetation is dominated byshrubs and bushes with a relatively thick accumulation ofpeat.Similarly, the Sigintung area is prone to seasonal flooding,but during prolonged dry seasons it transforms into an158