REDD+ Project Developers in Brazil and Indonesia Team Up to Conserve Peat Forests Threatened by Fire

JAKARTA PUSAT, Indonesia - Oct. 19, 2015 - PRLog -- Carbonfund.org Foundation, a US-based non-profit, and its subsidiary CarbonCo, a company that has successfully developed four large scale REDD+ projects that protect 300,000 hectares of rainforest in Brazil, has partnered with Indonesian-based, PT Forest Carbon, to develop REDD+ projects in Indonesia that protect peat forests threatened by forest clearing and fire.

Forest Carbon (http://www.forestcarbon.com/), a climate and forestry consulting firm that has been working on REDD+ implementation since 2007, will work with Carbonfund.org Foundation on the development of feasibility studies with Indonesian companies looking to restore degraded peat forest ecosystems, particularly those which serve as habitats for endangered species, such as the orangutan. The target forest areas are made up of deep peat and are vulnerable to wildfires of the kind that are causing this year’s regional haze crisis. The projects have the potential to reduce millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and rehabilitate badly damaged ecosystems so that they can once again serve as habitats of critically endangered species while helping to prevent fires and be productive resource landscapes for local communities.

“This partnership builds off of Carbonfund.org’s impressive track record of bringing four REDD+ projects in Brazil to market and leverages our firm’s in-depth knowledge of Indonesia and technical experience in REDD+ implementation across Southeast Asia” said Jeffrey Chatellier, Forest Carbon’s Country Director in Indonesia.

“We are excited about engaging in preserving Indonesian peat forests and carbon stocks at the same time as providing a safe haven for endangered wildlife,” said Carbonfund.org’s President, Eric Carlson. “Forest Carbon has unparalleled experience working with Indonesian partners on REDD+ and we are confident that our collaboration will enable us to replicate the success we have found in Brazil where our projects are preserving an area of Amazon Rainforest approximately the size of Rhode Island.”

About Forest Carbon

Forest Carbon, established in Indonesia in 2007, is an Indonesian-based firm that addresses the need for a regionally focused team capable of providing technical services on climate change, land use and forestry issues. Forest Carbon works with clients and partners to seek market-based solutions for the conservation of tropical rainforest. Forest Carbon provides scientifically-rigorous technical services to public and private stakeholders in their efforts to conserve threatened natural forests and reforest degraded areas. Forest Carbon is part of Singapore-based Equator Group PTE LTD, with offices in Indonesia, Singapore and Lao PDR.

Based in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s Manggala Wanabakti Office Complex, Forest Carbon has a core team of 14 experts with expertise in tropical forestry, GIS/remote sensing and monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV), community-based forest management, and environmental policy and safeguards. The company has previously been a lead advisor to two other Southeast Asian REDD+ projects which have achieved validation under the Verified Carbon Standard: The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve Project in Indonesia and the Seima Project in Cambodia. The company has also implemented over 90 carbon forestry contracts across Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America in just the last few years, including multilateral organizations (EU, UNDP, GGGI, World Bank), bilateral agencies (GIZ, KfW, JICA, USAID and Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affaires), local and international NGOs (FFI, WWF, SNV, OFI) as well as the private sector (PwC, Deloitte, GFA Germany and KKC Japan). To learn more, please visit www.forestcarbon.com.

About Carbonfund.org Foundation

Carbonfund.org Foundation was founded in 2003 and is a leading US-based nonprofit carbon reduction and climate solutions organization that has worked with over 750,000 individual supporters and over 2,000 international business and nonprofit partners including Dell, Discovery Communications, JetBlue, Motorola, National Geographic and Samsung.  In addition, Carbonfund.org has funded over 70 carbon reduction and tree-planting projects across 30+ states and 15+ countries, including numerous projects in Southeast Asia.

Carbonfund.org’s wholly-owned subsidiary CarbonCo, LLC (CarbonCo) is now responsible for consulting, advising, and developing forest conservation projects, otherwise known as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) projects.  To date, CarbonCo has designed, financed, and implemented four REDD+ projects in the State of Acre, Brazil that are conserving more than 300,000 hectares while reducing more than 16 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and helping dozens of local communities. CarbonCo’s REDD+ projects have attained international recognition due to their attainment of the industry’s highest certification standards and for their support from Fortune 500 companies.  In addition, CarbonCo’s Purus Project was one of only a handful of Brazilian-based projects to be sponsored by FIFA to offset the World Cup in Brazil.  CarbonCo’s Envira Amazonia Project is one of the largest REDD+ projects in the world and is one of only a handful of forestry projects to be validated as Triple Gold for exceptional climate, community and biodiversity benefits.  To learn more, please visit http://www.carbonfund.org/.