INDONESIA
Katingan Mentaya Project
The Katingan Mentaya Project (KMP) is a tropical peatland forest protection and restoration project in Central Kalimantan Province of Indonesia, on the island of Borneo. The project is managed through a partnership between Indonesia-based PT Rimba Makmur Utama (PT RMU) and Permian Global.
The protected forest area covers 149,800 hectares (concession area), where it generates an average of 7.5 million verified carbon units (VCUs) or carbon credits per year.
No communities live in the protected project area; however, the wider project zone covers 305,669 ha between the Mentaya River in the west and the Katingan River in the east and encompasses 35 villages. The project delivers community development programmes throughout this area, which are designed through close collaboration with the communities and
have been improving the lives, livelihoods and wellbeing of local people for more than 15 years.
The project is a triple gold rated forest carbon project, which means it has been third-party verified against the Verra Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Standard.
- Size: 149,800ha
- VCUs generated per year: an average of 7.5 million tCO2e per annum
- Delivering benefits to 45,000 local community members
- Validated against the VCS and has achieved “Triple Gold” status under CCB
- Ecosystem type: Tropical peat swamp forest – protects the habitat for 6 critically endangered; 11 endangered; 27 vulnerable species referenced on the IUCN Red List
- Contributing towards 17 SDGs, reaching 54 targets, 68 indicators in 2021-2022
- Undergoing 10-year baseline renewal
Climate benefits
At its heart, the project is helping to mitigate climate change by preventing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from deforestation, degradation and drainage of a vast area of tropical peat swamp forest.
The project delivers credible GHG emission reductions through avoided deforestation and forest degradation, whilst preventing peat drainage, oxidation and fires. By doing this, the project aims to enhance ecological values at the landscape scale through ecosystem restoration, including replanting degraded areas and rewetting drained peatland.
Community Benefits
Community livelihood development is a core priority for the project. In partnership with 35 villages, the project works to build capacity in community decision-making and identify sustainable initiatives for co-development and land use, through support for activities identified during the participatory planning process.
The community development programmes have been designed and implemented with full consultation with the communities and are reviewed periodically to ensure continued effectiveness.
Alongside the support for sustainable business development, the project also delivers programmes that are working to improve the health, education and wellbeing of local communities.
Biodiversity Benefits
Increasing biodiversity is the third core priority of the project, which it achieves through the protection and restoration of the forest area. The landscape is an important habitat for a diverse community of plant and animal species, including high conservation value (HCV) species, such as the Bornean orangutan, the Proboscis monkey and the Sunda pangolin.
The project protects the habitat of 70 mammals (2 critically endangered/CR , 6 endangered/EN, 12 Vulnerable/VU and 19 protected species); 221 birds (3 CR, 3 EN, 11 VU, and 37 protected); 55 reptiles (1 CR, 2 EN, 4 VU and 3 protected), 17 amphibian and 107 fish species.
The Orangutan population in the project represent over 5% of the remaining global population of the species, classifying them as HCV species in the area and classifying this forest as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA).
The project’s biodiversity team run a series of programmes that monitor and report on species population and ecosystem health.
SDG
Project activities are assessed in contribution to the goals and targets of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, with the goal of making significant progress to support the national and regional UN SDG targets of Indonesia.
The project undergoes comprehensive review on an annual basis as part of its Verra Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCB) verifications. It also collects regular data through its own internal staff reporting systems and through periodic reconfirmation of the Memorandum of nderstanding (MOU) agreements that are in place with each of the 35 villages within the project zone.
In 2022, the KMP supported and contributed to 17 of the UN SDGs, reaching 70 targets and 68 indicators.
The Katingan Mentaya Project protects 149,800 hectares of carbon rich peatland forest in Central Kalimantan, on Indonesian Borneo.
