Central Kalimantan

The Landscape

Located in the heart of Borneo, Central Kalimantan spans approximately 15.33 million hectares, making it one of Indonesia’s largest provinces. Its landscape stretches from lowland tropical rainforests and extensive peat swamp ecosystems in the south to hilly terrain in the north and southwest. The province has approximately 12 million hectares of designated forest areas, representing around 75% of its land territory, while recorded forest cover stands at approximately 5.15 million hectares. These landscapes support remarkable biodiversity, including iconic species such as the Bornean orangutan and proboscis monkey, while providing essential ecosystem services for surrounding communities and the wider region.  Central Kalimantan’s forests and peatlands are particularly significant for climate regulation and carbon storage. Its peat swamp ecosystems, especially across the southern and central parts of the province, hold substantial carbon stocks and play an important role in maintaining hydrological balance. However, these landscapes face persistent pressures from deforestation, forest degradation, land conversion, plantation expansion, extractive activities, and recurring forest and land fires. The province’s historical deforestation averaged approximately 116,479 hectares per year during 2011–2020, according to the forest-type analysis presented in the provincial REDD+ action plan. This highlights the scale of the challenge in maintaining forest cover and reducing emissions from land-use change.   Managing this landscape requires more than forest protection alone. It calls for stronger forest governance, effective institutions at the provincial and site levels, landscape restoration, fire prevention, and meaningful participation of local and customary communities. Central Kalimantan has an established foundation for REDD+ implementation, having been designated as Indonesia’s national REDD+ pilot province in 2010 and subsequently adopting its Provincial Strategy and Action Plan for REDD+ through Governor Regulation No. 10 of 2012. Building on this foundation, the province’s REDD+ agenda provides an opportunity to align sustainable forest management, climate mitigation, and community development with Indonesia’s broader commitments under the Enhanced NDC and FOLU Net Sink 2030.