A Closer Look at the Restorasi Ekosistem Riau (RER) Project

Heard of the RER (Restorasi Ekosistem Riau) project? It is a collaborative project aimed at restoring and conserving ecologically important peat forest areas in Indonesia’s Kampar Peninsula.

Spanning 150,000 hectares, the area was previously either mostly deforested or degraded peatland. APRIL Group established the RER project in 2013 as multi-year commitment to protecting, assessing, restoring and managing these lands. This is implemented in collaboration with Fauna & Flora International (FFI), Bidara, and The Nature Conservancy.

The landscape approach to responsibly managing these lands is not only a multifaceted one, but a multi-decade endeavour. APRIL Group announced at COP21 in December 2015 a USD 100 Million commitment over 10 years to the RER project. With the many parties and stakeholders involved and consulted, this is a massive multi-stakeholder eco-restoration effort that leverages the engagement of communities, the support of the government, the expertise of researchers and interest groups, and the business efficiency and resources of the company. As the saying goes: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together!

Check out some of the photos and don’t forget to visit the RER project at www.rekoforest.org to get the latest updates about this eco-restoration project!

Building a dam to support water management. (Read more)

Engaging communities to raise awareness on the importance of well-managed lands, fire prevention, and eco-restoration. (Read more)

Providing alternate means to managing the land: The RER team, along with Bidara, gives villages non-fire alternatives in the form of mechanical tools such as this land mower. (Read more)

Watch the Channel NewsAsia report below:

For an overview of the Restorasi Ekosistem Riau (RER) project, see this video:

The eco-restoration of the peat forest areas saw the return of native species, shown in the 2015 video montage below.

More on www.rekoforest.org!