The “For Earth’s Sake: REDD+ and local livelihoods” media workshop, held in Kalimantan, Indonesia, from November 11-14, was an opportunity for mid to senior-level journalists to learn about the link between forests and peatlands conservation and restoration as a cost-efficient and important nature-based solution to mitigate climate change, as well as to improve local livelihoods.

Jointly organized by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the UN-REDD Programme and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in Indonesia (MoEF), the workshop highlighted a leading public-private ecosystem conservation and restoration initiative on a peat swamp forest, with more than 150,000 hectares reserved area between Katingan and Mentaya River in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The Katingan Mentaya Project aims to protect and restore 157,875 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 area stores vast amounts of CO2, and plays a vital role in stabilizing water flows, preventing devastating peat fires, enriching soil nutrients and providing clean water. It is rich in biodiversity, being home to large populations of many high conservation value species, including some of the world’s most endangered; such as the Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus). It is surrounded by villages for which it supports traditional livelihoods including farming, fishing, and non-timber forest products harvesting.

It is currently the largest REDD+ project in the world in terms of emissions reductions per annum issued, with more than 20 million credits already issued since its creation 12 years ago.