Peatland Conservation in Indonesia: Biodiversity at its Core

One of the projects on the ClimateSeed platform is a tropical peatland restoration and conservation (PRC) initiative, covering over 150,000 hectares of critical peat swamp forest in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.
This project is a biodiversity hotspot as it protects vital habitat for a vibrant mix of flora and fauna, including 5 critically endangered, 8 endangered and 31 vulnerable animal species. The protected area is home to between 5 and 10% of the global populations of the Bornean Orangutan, Proboscis monkey and Southern Bornean gibbon.

Biodiversity Facts:

→ The project provides habitat for:

-67 mammals

-167 birds

-49 reptiles

-111 species of fish

-314 pant species

→ The project protects endangered species:

-Sunda Pangolin (critically endangered)

-White-shoulder ibis (critically endangered)

-Bornean Orangutan

-Southern Bornean gibbon

-Proboscis monkey

-Hairy-nosed otter

-Flat-headed cat

-Storms stork

-Bornean river turtle

-Spiny hill turtle

Project Detail

Over 90% of the carbon in the project is stored in the underlying peat dome
The peat soils under the forest are up to 13 meters deep, having formed over 26,000 years
Protecting the forest from conversion to industrial acacia plantations has prevented the release of greenhouse gases equivalent to almost half a gigaton of carbon dioxide over 60 years - this makes it the largest forest-based avoided emissions project in the world
Automated fire monitoring and 18 equipped fire posts, enabling rapid responses with specialised equipment for tackling underground fires

Community Impact

The Project works in close collaboration with all of the 34 surrounding villages
Of the 500+ Project staff, 100% are Indonesian, more than 80% are local to the region
Through a combination of vocational training, SME lending and microfinance loans, the Project is working to ensure the environmental and economic sustainability of livestock management; agroforestry; fisheries; aquaculture; non-timber forest projects; and ecotourism
Since the Project was established, 948 microfinance loans have been allocated for sustainable enterprises

With everything happening around the world, we all need some positive news to keep us inspired! Especially this week as we are celebrating Earth Day! Starting today, ClilmateSeed is launching its #CheerfulMondayCampaign to remind us how we can support communities and fight climate change. To celebrate the Earth, this week’s focus will be around biodiversity. To start us off, we are showcasing our peatland conservation project in Indonesia, which is a biodiversity hotspot. It protects vital habitats for more than 40 endangered or vulnerable animal species.

Article written by Project Developer