Hitting all Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals
In the tree canopy, 100 feet above the ground, the orangutan stretches with one of its long red-haired arms for the safety of the next tree, holding her baby in her other arm. But the branch sways dangerously back — and then forth again — the mother reaches out again.
With our investment in the home of the Bornean orangutan, the Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, we want to ensure there will always be another tree for the orangutan to reach out to. And — if you hadn’t guessed already, metaphorically speaking — for us as well.
The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve Project covers approximately 64,000 hectares, which is over three times bigger than Washington DC, of tropical lowland, peat swamp forests. It’s home to as many as 1,000 plant and animal species per square kilometeri, and it’s also one of the last habitats for the critically endangered wild Bornean orangutan.
As a peat swamp forest, Rimba Raya is not only amongst the world’s largest repositories of carbonii, but is also one of the most endangered ecosystems on earth. In 2007, the area now known as Rimba Raya was slated for conversion to palm oil estates, threatening to wreak havoc on the region and its communities, while also releasing millions of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere.
Infinite-EARTH, a visionary carbon project developer, saw the possibility to save the Rimba Raya forest by leveraging its large carbon stocks and monetizing them through the voluntary carbon markets. And so, after Infinite-EARTH (through the Indonesian concession holder, PT Rimba Raya) successfully won approval for a concession license to re-designate the area a conservation forest, it became the first validated REDD+ project (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). It is now one of the largest REDD+ projects in the world.
Rimba Raya is a perfect fit for Carbon Streaming’s impact-focused investment approach. From a carbon credit perspective, the project is a heavy hitter. It has generated over 33 million carbon credits since 2009, and is expected to generate a further 70 million credits during its remaining 20-year crediting period. It is also the world’s first REDD+ project to be validated and verified under the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard for its contributions to all 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
These goals include: no poverty, zero hunger, quality education, gender equality, good health and well-being, climate action, and more. These goals are key to ensure direct and quantifiable benefits to the communities and environment in the local project areas, and a testament to their commitment to the success of the project.
This is why Carbon Streaming has partnered with Infinite-EARTH — to protect both the future of the reserve and our planet.
Our CEO, Justin Cochrane, has commented on the partnership, saying, “Carbon Streaming is thrilled to be partnering with InfiniteEARTH and its Founders to fight climate change, preserve the rich biodiversity of this area, and improve the health and economic well-being of these local communities. This investment builds on Carbon Streaming’s high-quality, nature-based portfolio including the recently announced blue carbon MarVivo project in Mexico and the Bonobo Peace Forest projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It demonstrates our commitment to invest in carbon credit projects around the world that also provide substantial community and biodiversity benefits.”
Carbon Streaming will receive and then sell 100% of the carbon credits generated by Rimba Raya, approximately 3.5 million credits per annum for the next 20 years less up to 635,000 carbon credits per annum that are already committed to previous buyers.
The benefits for the Rimba Raya project are equally compelling. Infinite-EARTH will now have the up-front capital to fast-track major project initiatives, including more extensive medical services for communities within the region, and also a major reforestation effort through the development of a community-owned, native cash-crop agroforestry initiative.
You can find more information on Rimba Raya by reading our recent new release announcing the carbon credit stream agreement, and also by visiting our Rimba Raya project page. Additionally, you may be interested in visiting the Rimba Raya website, which has a wealth of videos regarding the project and its many initiatives.
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i https://rimba-raya.com/assets/uploads/Rimba-Raya-Project-Overview.pdf
ii https://rimba-raya.com/assets/uploads/Rimba-Raya-Project-Overview.pdf
Forward-Looking Information: Some of the posted entries on the Carbon Blog may contain forward-looking information. Forward-looking information address future events and conditions which involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by them. For further information about the risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to such forward looking information we refer you to our legal notice.