Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve

Inside the project

Established in 2008 using one of the earliest REDD accounting methodologies, the reserve covers about 64,000 hectares of peat swamp forest in Seruyan Regency, designed to prevent the area's planned conversion to oil-palm plantation and protect habitat adjoining Tanjung Puting National Park.

The reserve protects critical habitat for the critically endangered Bornean orangutan and a wide range of threatened species. Community programs along the Seruyan River have included school support, a floating healthcare clinic, clean-water filters and improved cookstoves.

Between June 2013 and April 2024, Verra issued approximately 33.6 million carbon credits from Rimba Raya, of which roughly 25.7 million were retired. The project's scale is why subsequent disputes drew wide market attention.

As of September 2026 the registry shows the project as Late to Verify, with 33.6 million credits issued, of which about 26.9 million have been retired.

Image credit

Crystal Reidemann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsImage source ↗

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Objectives

• Prevent planned conversion of peat-swamp forest to plantation
• Protect Bornean orangutan habitat adjoining Tanjung Puting National Park
• Deliver health, education, clean water and livelihood benefits to Seruyan villages
• Generate verified REDD+ credits aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Approach

• Verified under Verra's VCS and CCB with periodic third-party verification, and the first REDD+ project verified under SD VISta (2020). Avoided-deforestation accounting runs against a deforestation baseline with monitoring reports filed to the Verra registry.
• The project is contested. In 2023 PT Rimba Raya Conservation announced it had terminated cooperation with developer InfiniteEARTH. In March 2024 Indonesia's environment ministry announced it had revoked the company's forest-utilisation licences, citing alleged permit transfers and trading outside the licensed area. Verra suspended InfiniteEARTH's registry account in May 2024. In July 2024 a Jakarta administrative court overturned the revocation, allowing activity to restart; ownership and developer disputes remained unresolved. Figures and status should be read as of mid-2024.