Working with Indigenous People and the Indonesian Government to Reclaim,

Restore, Manage and Monetise Indonesia’s stocks of Natural Capital, Clean

Water and Carbon
Mr Peter Burgess
Technical Director
KORABUH GRACIA CARBON.

Indonesia Natural Capital and Carbon Overview

Fig 1: SE Asian/Australasian Natural Capital Distribution (inclusive of West Papua & Papua New
Guinea)

Fig 2: Indonesia Rainforest Natural Capital Distribution

Context
Indonesia and the global investment community need to understand that Indonesia and its SE Asian
neighbours are not island archipelagos unconnected to regional and global neighbours. Indonesia is
part of a massive regional piston within the physical, oceanic, and climatic engine of the broader SE
Asia/Australasia region.

What happens in Indonesia and SE Asia has very meaningful consequences to a much broader
region. The massive spatial extent of ocean, terrestrial, coastal, and marine systems affect the
climate of a vast region that currently supports “Half” the global population.

If investment equations affecting Indonesia, and SE Asian nations (their respective populations,
inclusive of Indigenous people), continue the current trajectory of ignoring Natural Capital, nations
will profoundly limit their long-term ability to prosper economically. Essentially, continuing along the
current course will sacrifice long term prosperity in favour of a very brief period of investment profit.

This understanding and approach to rehabilitating and conserving Natural Capital, clean water
supplies and carbon stocks applies to all provinces and landscapes of Indonesia.

As the world emerges from the COVID 19 driven economic catastrophe and supply chain disruption,
security for future generations requires a long-term innovative approach to Natural Capital and how
this critical resource can fuel the ascendency of Indonesia and its Indigenous people as significant
and emerging economic players in the global economy.

KOPRABUH GRACIA CARBON (KGC): Restoring the natural functions of watersheds and
landscapes.

West Kalimantan, as all landscapes regardless of size location, or location on earth, should be
viewed as entire interconnected terrestrial and marine landscapes.

All landscapes are made up of a system of rivers, streams & wetlands that interconnect
watersheds, mountain ranges, rainforest, mangroves, reefs, conservation estate, oil palm,
mining, agriculture, aquaculture, cities, towns, villages, plantation timber, logging
concessions, and previously logged forest estate.

Landscapes (on any jurisdiction) and its watershed systems (large or small) can be managed
as part of an integrated plan to restore the natural functions of whole catchments to
rehabilitate & conserve Natural Capital, biodiversity, clean water and carbon stocks while
sustainably managing human, built and social capital development.
Management Decisions applied to Terrestrial Natural Capital has a direct effect on Marine
Natural Capital (Mangrove, seagrass beds, Coral Reef and fish stocks).

Sovereign Jurisdic�on Responsibility: Save 570 mill ha of

CTSB & CTI-CFF through restora�on and conserva�on of
terrestrial water sheds and Natural Capital

Fig 3: The coral Triangle

West Kalimantan: An “Illustrative” Example
Area: 14.8 mill ha
Population: 5.5 million
Ethnic Groups: Dayak 35%, Malay 34%, Javanese 9.7%, Chinese 8.2%, Madurese 6.3%, Bugis 3.2%,

Fig 4: West Kalimantan Landscape Zones

1) Upper Slope: Intact rainforest, mountains, river headwaters

2) Flat Lands below mountains: Peatlands, pristine river systems
3) Mid Slope Plains: Peatlands, Agriculture, mining, towns, villages, wetlands
4) Coastal Deltas: Mangrove, wetlands, fishery, agriculture.

Fig 5: West Kalimantan River Systems: Riparian zone reclamation and wildlife corridor development
(Yellow highlight) to regenerate and conserve Peatland, Clean Water, Wetland forest Carbon & NC
stocks.
Fig 6: West Kalimantan Kapuas River System, Riparian reclamation, and wildlife corridor
development plan to link 2 major peatlands, rebuild wetland forest and deliver clean water.

The Issues

The Issues facing conservation and restoration and management of Indonesia’s Natural Capital,
Biodiversity, Clean Water and Carbon Stocks while sustainably managing human, built and social
capital are significant but not insurmountable.

Fig 7: Google Earth Image showing recently cleared and drained peatland for Oil Palm near
Putussibau. Natural Capital and Carbon stocks will decline at a rapid rate if allowed to continue
Fig 8: Photographs of Fig 7 taken by author from aircraft on approach to Putussibau showing
peatland drains.

Fig: 9: Oil Palm and unregulated mining activity on the Kapuas River near Sintang; West Kalimantan
Fig 10: Oil Palm and Unregulated mining Sintang → Sanggau

Fig 11: Mine waste, soil and silt flowing into the Kapuas River at Tajan (Fish have disappeared water
quality severely compromised). Urgent need for water quality testing
Fig 12: Unregulated mining waste emptying into the Kapuas River near Sanggau. (Fish have
disappeared water quality severely compromised)

Fig 13: Traditional slash & burn agriculture site near Putussibau. Assess most appropriate and
economic land use. Potentially better to restore Natural capital and maintain peatland carbon stocks
Fig 14: Poor land use choice & Kratom plantation management (evaluate land use options)

Fig 15: Refuse tip on roadside in Putussibau. “Plastic waste management a super high priority for
Indonesia, greater Asia, inclusive of developed societies of the western world!!!”
KGC Action Plan for West Kalimantan & East Kalimantan

Target linked, low-cost Natural Capital, watershed, carbon restoration and conservation
projects that have ease of implementation, produce high volumes credits for effort, that
generate highest quality Carbon, and highest price/tonne CO2e for credits generated.
• Peatland: Recently destroyed/cleared/burnt peatland Natural Capital that can be
regrown naturally from background seedbanks. Very easy and low cost to plug the
drains to re-wet the peatlands to prevent fire. (Reforestation, degradation prevention
and avoided emissions)
• Burnt and Wildfire Areas: traditional slash & burn site subsistence agriculture, or
wildfire area: Very easy to regrow naturally from background seedbanks.
• Oil Palm Plantations: Remove and reclaim unregulated oil palm areas, restore
riparian zones and wetland forest zones where Palm Oil has less than optimum
productivity, restore riparian zones and wildlife corridors within existing well-run
plantations, reclaim low productivity zones within plantations (compare NC income
vs Oil Palm on low productivity zones.)
• Mine sites: Mining and lack of accountability for restoration is currently one of the
most destructive activities in Indonesia second only to Palm Oil. Mine restoration is
expensive and will require capital equipment and operators (earth moving), mining
engineers, linkage to KOPRABUH seed nurseries, tree planting workforce, drone seed
planters etc. Will take time to build operational teams. Expertise and contract teams
currently working on mine sites in Australia are immediately available to educate and
train and deliver technology transfer to local teams.
• Consider affordable architecturally designed housing built from Plantation Timber
and 25-year-old palm oil trunks (replacement plants from plantations). Carbon Credit
from carbon sequestration (sequestered in wood building 25 years, and avoided
emissions (inbuilt renewable energy supply solar, wind, EV motor bike/car).

KGC to join with like mined businesses and organizations, contribute knowledge, expertise,
capability, and alternative funding sources, off takers and project development expertise if
required. This will add capacity, capability, and scalability to reconstruct larger areas of
degraded and threatened landscapes, watersheds, and Natural Capital in a targeted and
efficient manner.

Currently, many Indigenous people are missing out on the opportunity to participate in, and
benefit financially, economically, socially, and culturally in the new global “Carbon and
imminently, Natural Capital commodity markets”. Current Indonesian Indigenous land tenure
(ownership), land use, land title type, lack of cash to secure land title, and the extraordinary
length of time required for the lands department to verify and issue land titles is resulting in
Indigenous people’s inability to secure carbon credit permits to develop viable carbon
projects.

KGC and the KOPRABUH cooperative are endeavouring to address these limitations to allow
meaningful inclusion of Indigenous people in landscape restoration and conservation
activities relevant to their tribal lands.
Indigenous People of the Kapuas Hulu region (2.98 mill ha or 26% of West Kalimantan) are
looking to partner with organisations that can assist in theirs, and Indonesia’s endeavour to
rehabilitate, conserve and manage the rain forests, waterways and peat lands across the
region. The focus being to regenerate, protect and manage one of the largest Peatlands in
the World.

Fig 16: Showing Kapuas Hulu Peatland, mountain rainforest and wetland forests

Fig 17: 300,000 hectares of tribal lands under immediate threat in the Kapuas Hulu Regency
Fig 18: Area of Concern. NGO’s representing Palm Oil companies approaching Indigenous people to
sign over their lands to establish new Palm Oil plantations.

Fig 19: Outlines of potential Carbon, Natural Capital and biodiversity projects to protect one of the
largest peatlands in the world and a most valuable Indonesian asset that will benefit generations to
come