BUSINESS
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - InfiniteEARTH - which owns the exclusive carbon and marketing rights to the Rimba Raya Project located in Indonesia's Central Kalimantan province adjacent to Tanjung Puting National Park - has made a carbon credit deal with Carbon Streaming Corporation which was announced to the global public early this month (Aug 3).
In the announcement, the carbon credit agreement highlights were laid out including, among other things, the level of sold carbon credits from the Rimba Raya Project and the upfront cash investment/capital involved, as well as details on its use to support the project’s major initiatives.
Also mentioned in the public announcement was that “InfiniteEARTH’s Rimba Raya Project is the world’s first REDD+ project to be verified under the newly launched Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SDVista)”.
One section of the SDVista document spells out some of the project’s activities and includes an eye-catching assertion of co-management of Tanjung Puting National Park.
The InfiniteEARTH profile, which forms part of the public announcement, describes the Rimba Raya Project as a 64,500-hectare peat forest and one of the world's largest REDD+ projects.
The project is also said to protect and preserve tropical lowland peat swamp forests which serve as a native home for the last high-density population of Bornean orangutans.
With reference to the map displayed in the SDVista document, the 64,500-hectare area in question includes part of the Tanjung Puting National Park, full authority for which lies under Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
The Rimba Raya Project, as stated in the public announcement for the carbon credit agreement, is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) per year, with a total reduction of 130 million tCO2e estimated over its 30 -year carbon offset project, which started in 2009.
However, as also stated in the SDVista document, the Rimba Raya Project's carbon accounting area encompasses part of the Tanjung Puting National Park.
Tanjung Puting National Park, covering an area of 415,040 hectares or equivalent to more than 5.5 times the size of Singapore, is one of the most important habitats for Bornean orangutans, providing a substantial boost for the continued growth of this flagship species’ population, as shown by the following two photos.
In October 2018, a collaboration agreement was signed between the head of Tanjung Puting National Park and PT Rimba Raya Conservation (RRC), an ecosystem restoration company. This collaboration was intended to strengthen the function of the national park over an area of 18,642 hectares.
However, according to the Indonesian forestry authorities, this collaboration agreement in no way conferred authority for the co-management of the national park on PT RRC. Moreover, neither did the agreement allow for part of the national park to be included in the Rimba Raya Project’s carbon accounting area for trading purposes.
Collaboration agreement annulled
In responding to a query from FORESTHINTS.NEWS regarding the carbon credit deal, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya confirmed in writing (Aug 25) that the collaboration agreement between Tanjung Puting National Park and PT RRC had initially been temporarily suspended in the middle of this year (Jun 23).
“The suspension was related to an ongoing evaluation of matters linked to carbon-related business and sustainable production forest management,” the minister wrote.
Minister Nurbaya said, however, that based on the results of the legal evaluation conducted by her ministry, it had been decided that the temporary suspension would be superseded by a permanent cancellation due to the annexation of part of Tanjung Puting National Park by the Rimba Raya Project, as exemplified by its claim of co-management of the national park.
"Claims of co-management of a national park, including those made by the Rimba Raya Project with regard to Tanjung Puting National Park, must be legally negated because they are not aligned with Indonesia’s laws and regulations," she cautioned.
Furthermore, according to the minister, the annexation of part of Tanjung Puting National Park, along with the claim that it forms part of the Rimba Raya Project, is an illegal practice, as is the inclusion of part of the national park in the project's carbon accounting area. All of this, she added, must be legally terminated.
Minister Nurbaya stressed that she was undertaking efforts to prevent PT RRC, in its capacity as a forestry company established under Indonesian law, from operating in the corridor of illegalities, especially when it comes to its carbon deals with third parties.
She emphasized that she has to be careful in ensuring that there is no double-counting for the purpose of achieving Indonesia's NDC target, adding that “It’s my priority to meet that target and I am very pleased with the support from the business sector and other relevant parties in achieving it together.”
She warned, however, that “it needs to take place in a rules-based corridor that stays firmly within legal boundaries.”
Minister Nurbaya, in closing her written response, underscored that she will continue to evaluate and look into carbon project entities and initiatives to make sure that their actions remain constitutionally aligned with the country’s regulations and work system framework. This, she wrote, will ensure the targets that form part of Indonesia's commitment to the Paris Agreement can be properly achieved.
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BUSINESS
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - InfiniteEARTH - which owns the exclusive carbon and marketing rights to the Rimba Raya Project located in Indonesia's Central Kalimantan province adjacent to Tanjung Puting National Park - has made a carbon credit deal with Carbon Streaming Corporation which was announced to the global public early this month (Aug 3).
In the announcement, the carbon credit agreement highlights were laid out including, among other things, the level of sold carbon credits from the Rimba Raya Project and the upfront cash investment/capital involved, as well as details on its use to support the project’s major initiatives.
Also mentioned in the public announcement was that “InfiniteEARTH’s Rimba Raya Project is the world’s first REDD+ project to be verified under the newly launched Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SDVista)”.
One section of the SDVista document spells out some of the project’s activities and includes an eye-catching assertion of co-management of Tanjung Puting National Park.
The InfiniteEARTH profile, which forms part of the public announcement, describes the Rimba Raya Project as a 64,500-hectare peat forest and one of the world's largest REDD+ projects.
The project is also said to protect and preserve tropical lowland peat swamp forests which serve as a native home for the last high-density population of Bornean orangutans.
With reference to the map displayed in the SDVista document, the 64,500-hectare area in question includes part of the Tanjung Puting National Park, full authority for which lies under Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
The Rimba Raya Project, as stated in the public announcement for the carbon credit agreement, is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) per year, with a total reduction of 130 million tCO2e estimated over its 30 -year carbon offset project, which started in 2009.
However, as also stated in the SDVista document, the Rimba Raya Project's carbon accounting area encompasses part of the Tanjung Puting National Park.
Tanjung Puting National Park, covering an area of 415,040 hectares or equivalent to more than 5.5 times the size of Singapore, is one of the most important habitats for Bornean orangutans, providing a substantial boost for the continued growth of this flagship species’ population, as shown by the following two photos.
In October 2018, a collaboration agreement was signed between the head of Tanjung Puting National Park and PT Rimba Raya Conservation (RRC), an ecosystem restoration company. This collaboration was intended to strengthen the function of the national park over an area of 18,642 hectares.
However, according to the Indonesian forestry authorities, this collaboration agreement in no way conferred authority for the co-management of the national park on PT RRC. Moreover, neither did the agreement allow for part of the national park to be included in the Rimba Raya Project’s carbon accounting area for trading purposes.
Collaboration agreement annulled
In responding to a query from FORESTHINTS.NEWS regarding the carbon credit deal, Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya confirmed in writing (Aug 25) that the collaboration agreement between Tanjung Puting National Park and PT RRC had initially been temporarily suspended in the middle of this year (Jun 23).
“The suspension was related to an ongoing evaluation of matters linked to carbon-related business and sustainable production forest management,” the minister wrote.
Minister Nurbaya said, however, that based on the results of the legal evaluation conducted by her ministry, it had been decided that the temporary suspension would be superseded by a permanent cancellation due to the annexation of part of Tanjung Puting National Park by the Rimba Raya Project, as exemplified by its claim of co-management of the national park.
"Claims of co-management of a national park, including those made by the Rimba Raya Project with regard to Tanjung Puting National Park, must be legally negated because they are not aligned with Indonesia’s laws and regulations," she cautioned.
Furthermore, according to the minister, the annexation of part of Tanjung Puting National Park, along with the claim that it forms part of the Rimba Raya Project, is an illegal practice, as is the inclusion of part of the national park in the project's carbon accounting area. All of this, she added, must be legally terminated.
Minister Nurbaya stressed that she was undertaking efforts to prevent PT RRC, in its capacity as a forestry company established under Indonesian law, from operating in the corridor of illegalities, especially when it comes to its carbon deals with third parties.
She emphasized that she has to be careful in ensuring that there is no double-counting for the purpose of achieving Indonesia's NDC target, adding that “It’s my priority to meet that target and I am very pleased with the support from the business sector and other relevant parties in achieving it together.”
She warned, however, that “it needs to take place in a rules-based corridor that stays firmly within legal boundaries.”
Minister Nurbaya, in closing her written response, underscored that she will continue to evaluate and look into carbon project entities and initiatives to make sure that their actions remain constitutionally aligned with the country’s regulations and work system framework. This, she wrote, will ensure the targets that form part of Indonesia's commitment to the Paris Agreement can be properly achieved.
RELATED STORIES
