Background: The Katingan Peatland Restoration and Conservation Project seeks to protect and restore 149,800 hectares of peatland ecosystems, to offer local people sustainable sources of income, and to tackle global climate change – all based on a solid business model. The project lies within the districts of Katingan and Kotawaringin Timur in Central Kalimantan Province, and covers one of the largest remaining intact peat swamp forests in Indonesia. The project area is located entirely within state-designated production forest. Without the project, the area would be converted to fast-growing industrial timber plantations, grown for pulpwood. The goal of the Katingan Project is to develop and implement a sustainable land use model through reducing deforestation and degradation, habitat and ecosystem restoration, biodiversity conservation,and increasing economic opportunities for the local people of Central Kalimantan. Project activities: The Katingan Project conserves a vast ecosystem of mostly intact peat swamp forest which would have been converted to industrial acacia plantations in the absence of the project. The project activities include: Avoided Deforestation and peat drainage (REDD + WRC) Reforestation (ARR) Peatland rewetting and conservation (RDP + CUPP) Fire prevention and suppression Protection and law enforcement Species conservation and habitat management Participatory planning Community-based business development Microfinance development Sustainable energy development Improved public health and sanitation services Basic education support General information:The Katingan Project is performance-based, and at its core, is financed by its achieved GHG emission reductions and sequestrations against a baseline scenario during the initial crediting period of 60 years.The project is expected to reduce an average of 7,451,846 tons of GHG emissions annually during the initial 60 year crediting period. Monitoring: Monitoring under this project is done under different sections/parts: Climate impact monitoring plan- Climate impacts will be monitored, reported and evaluated according to the Climate MRV Tracker. This includes monitoring changes in land cover, land use, peat thickness and water table depth, as per the VCS VM0007 methodological requirements. This is done using remote sensing, field measurement, monitoring C stock, monitoring GHG Emissions from microbial decomposition of peat, monitoring GHG Emissions from water bodies and monitoring GHG Emissions from peat and biomass burning. Community impact monitoring plan-Impacts of the Katingan Project on the project-zone communities will be closely monitored, reported and evaluated according to the Community MRV tracker.Monitoring results will be used to evaluate the progress of community-based activities, lessons learned and community inputs, and to implement adaptive management plan. Ground Truthing of information and maps will be conducted on a regular basis in order to assess the accuracy of spatial impacts on communities. Biodiversity impact monitoring plan-Biodiversity impacts in the project zone will be monitored based on the Biodiversity MRV Tracker.Monitoring will be carried out using a variety of field survey techniques, including local community interview surveys to assess hunting level and threats. Rigorous data analysis will then determine whether the Katingan Project has achieved its objectives of net positive biodiversity benefits. HCV monitoring program will be used to demonstrate that the Katingan Project has achieved the stated HCV objectives for maintaining and enhancing these HCV species’ populations. Additionality: The project is considered additional, with the most likely and plausible business-as-usual scenario being conversion to industrial acacia plantation. Outside of legally designated protected areas, and without the prospect of revenues from carbon finance, maintenance of intact forest on land designated for production is not common practice in Indonesia. Biodiversity co-benefits: Project activities are designed to consistently protect and enhance high conservation value areas and so as a result no negative impacts are anticipated and no mitigation measures are therefore anticipated. The impact of project activities on all high conservation value areas will be constantly monitored and if at any point negative impacts are indicated remedial action will immediately be taken. This will ensure the long-term survival of the habitat and the species supported by it. Social co-benefits: The project seeks to benefit communities through a variety of socio-economic activities which also target the most vulnerable and marginalized community members. This includes the poor, women, elderly and the disabled. The project is expected to create a multitude of positive economic effects from these programs, as they increase employment opportunities, crop yields, access to markets and revolving finances, and new business and investment opportunities.

Co-benefits certification