HONG KONG, Aug. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, InfiniteEARTH Limited, project developer of the Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve, released an aggressive plan to reforest an initial 2,400 hectares, ramping up to 10,000 hectares over the next ten years. The area of rehabilitation consists of peatlands degraded by historic shifting agriculture prior to the project start date and from fires induced by the oil palm burning seasons of 2015 and 2019, both of which saw Singapore shrouded in smoke for months at a time.
The innovative agroforestry plan calls for the development of community farms using the "Jungle Crop" model - 50% density of mixed, native cash crops with inter-dispersed, natural regrowth. The new Five-Year Plan, funded through an agreement between Carbon Streaming Corporation and InfiniteEARTH, facilitates PT Rimba Raya Conservation's Restoration Concession License obligations, promotes economic diversification and autonomy of the local forest-dependent communities and further advances Indonesia's climate and sustainability goals.
"Having sold out of all of our credit inventory in March and April this year, and pending Indonesia's announcement of their national carbon policy, we will spend the coming year preparing for our next VERRA audit by investing heavily in the project area. Our new Five-Year plan ensures the fulfillment of our obligations under the conservation and restoration concession license and in addition meets all 17 UN SDGs," said Todd Lemons – Founder of InfiniteEARTH.
Under the plan, the agroforestry initiative provides for $10 million USD in funding over the next five years, with $2 million USD being released to start development immediately. InfiniteEARTH has completed a one-year feasibility study that identified 16 species of native cash crops, including Rambutan, Gembor, Durian, Jengkol and Cempedak, all of which grow naturally in the region and have readily available markets. A significant portion of the budget includes drilling freshwater wells for irrigation through the dry season. The wells will also help facilitate fire suppression in previously inaccessible areas of the Reserve.
To-date, the Project has invested heavily in fire prevention and suppression, including investing in equipment and training for community fire brigades, as well as collaboration and coordination with the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) and the Tanjung Puting National Park (TNTP-SPTN 2). Nonetheless, each burning season presents serious challenges when fires start further than 1km from the main water source, the Seruyan River, due to the physical limitations of fire hoses and pumps. Consequently, the funding of a network of wellheads throughout the project area will allow project managers to combat fires caused by the oil palm burning season.
Project management is now in the process of identifying potential partners with experience in the Agroforestry sector. All interested Indonesian Agroforestry companies are invited to respond to this RFP. (https://infinite-earth.com/documents/RFP_InfiniteEARTH_Agroforestry_Final.pdf).
Beyond this reforestation/agroforestry initiative, the plan provides funding for a 100% increase in Rimba Raya's annual budget for its floating health clinic. In addition to increased trip frequency, the clinic will be outfitted with more sophisticated medical equipment, supplies and personnel. In particular, the new initiative will fund extensive eye and dental procedures – identified as the two most prominent medical needs in the communities surrounding the Rimba Raya Reserve.
To further support all local conservation efforts, the plan also includes a significant annual contribution to the Tanjung Puting National Park for its work in collaboration with Rimba Raya. "We look forward to the continued collaboration between Rimba Raya and the dedicated leadership of the Park," InfiniteEARTH stated.
Finally, the new initiative also provides for a 100% increase in Rimba Raya's existing annual budget for education scholarships.
According to project management, "InfiniteEARTH is firmly committed to our new 5-year plan but will, of course, remain flexible and receptive to changes in governmental policies and goals regarding climate change and sustainable development - and adapt that plan accordingly."
More information about the Rimba Raya Project can be found here: https://rimba-raya.com/.
More information about InfiniteEARTH can be found here: https://infinite-earth.com/.
More information about Carbon Streaming Corporation can be found here: https://www.carbonstreaming.com/.
About Rimba Raya
Rimba Raya, located on the island of Borneo in the province of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, is one of the world's largest initiatives to protect and preserve tropical lowland peat swamp forests. These terrestrial ecosystems have one the highest carbon storing capacities but are also one of the most highly endangered ecosystems in the world. Rimba Raya was conceived and developed by InfiniteEARTH. Rimba Raya follows the REDD framework and is considered a REDD+ project- a concept defined at the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference that augments REDD with the active prevention of forest degradation through forest management and enhancement of carbon stocks through avoided deforestation and afforestation.
About InfiniteEARTH
InfiniteEARTH is a Hong Kong-based project development company that develops and manages conservation land banks and provides environmental offsets and corporate social responsibility (CSR) solutions to companies across the globe. The company was formed in 2008 with the goal of creating the Rimba Raya Project, a 64,500-hectare peat forest in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Rimba Raya is one of the world's largest REDD+ projects. The project eradicates deforestation, promotes conservation of local wildlife, and sells carbon credits based on the carbon rich forest which was previously slated for conversion to oil palm. InfiniteEARTH's projects focus on the preservation of endangered species habitat, High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) Forests, and National Parks through the creation of social and physical buffer zones. All projects are designed to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals by funding sustainable development in rural communities through capacity building, transfer of low-impact technologies such as solar and fuel-efficient cookstoves, aquaponics, agroforestry ("Jungle Crop") models, and social benefits programs such as health care and early childhood education materials.
