Earlier this summer, PT. Ratah Timber, an FSC certificate holder in Indonesia, was officially verified for the Biodiversity Conservation portion of its FSC Ecosystem Services claim.
Located in East Kalimantan on Borneo Island in Indonesia, the company first obtained permission for a forest concession in 1970. They currently hold a forest concession of around 94,425 hectares, of which 86,270 have been certified to FSC FM and CoC standards, with 7,155 hectares being used for social activities implemented by local communities, and not within the scope of FSC certification. The site has an area with a core conservation function with high conservation value (HCV) that supports the conservation of biodiversity, including rare and threatened terrestrial mammals and bird species.
As East Kalimantan has been focusing on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and conserving and sustainably managing its forests, the forest production of Ratah Timber’s concession has been, and continues to be, well managed. The company has implemented reduced impact logging, which involves restricting the number of trees logged per hectare – significantly reducing stand damage when compared to conventional logging.
The Ratah Timber concession and surrounding areas have long been a core habitat for rare and endangered wildlife including species like Bornean peacock pheasants, bay cats, pangolins, clouded leopards and sun bears. A recent scientific study by Jati et al. (2018) reported 75 fauna species identified from camera trap videos in Ratah and the adjacent forest management unit. According to the IUCN’s Red List, 18 of these species are threatened by extinction, being either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The study found 37 species of medium to large-sized terrestrial animals – including six birds, 28 mammals, and three reptiles – reported within the Ratah Timber concession.
With the concession being such an important area for biodiversity, FSC is pleased that Ratah Timber has had its Biodiversity Conservation claim verified. Ratah Timber is also working towards having its Carbon Sequestration and Storage Ecosystem Services claim verified in the near future.