Forest Conservation

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Protecting Forests, Nurturing Biodiversity

Forest Conservation highlights our dedication to protecting biodiversity and conserving vital ecosystems. This pillar focuses on maintaining a deforestation-free supply chain, safeguarding critical habitats, and promoting sustainable land use. By engaging in proactive conservation efforts and complying with global standards such as the NDPE policy, we aim to ensure that our operations harmonise with nature while supporting environmental integrity.

Conservation Management

Biodiversity Management

Community & Forest

Deforestation Monitoring

REA operates in Borneo, one of the world’s most biodiverse regions, providing vital ecosystem services such as clean water, climate regulation, and nutrient cycling. Recognising the potential environmental challenges of plantation development, REA ensures that all operations, from land clearing to delivery, adhere to conservation principles. These efforts are aimed at mitigating negative effects while actively restoring and enhancing the natural biodiversity of the landscapes, thereby aligning business sustainability with environmental priorities stewardship.

REA commits to no conversion of any natural ecosystem to another land use including no significant changes to the species composition, structure or function of any natural ecosystem, in accordance with our published Conservation Policy.

This policy applies to the operations of any company within the REA group and all of its employees including all third party contractors operating within REA’s plantations, as well as all associated and independent smallholders and all suppliers.

Key Initiatives

Under our Conservation Management approach, REA focuses on restoring ecosystems, safeguarding biodiversity, and engaging local communities. These initiatives support long-term environmental stewardship through science-based practices and collaborative action.

Restoration Initiatives

Seedling Nursery and Biodiversity Enhancement

Climate and Water Monitoring

Environmental Management System (EMS)

Community Collaboration

Plantation Ecology

REA Kon continues to expand its rewilding and enrichment programmes to enhance biodiversity, support carbon sequestration, and restore degraded landscapes. In 2024, REA Kon distributed 1,542 seedlings to internal stakeholders and surrounding communities and carried out the following:

4,040 seedlings were planted to restore 10.1 hectares
508 HCV boundary markers installed
42 conservation signboards installed

In 2023, REA received recognition as the "Best Manager of High Conservation Value Areas" in East Kalimantan.

REA is deeply committed to protecting and enhancing the rich biodiversity of its operational and surrounding landscapes. Our biodiversity management programmes are designed to protect rare, threatened, and endangered (RTE) species while ensuring the ecological balance of our landscapes.

In line with its commitment to biodiversity, REA has partnered with academic institutions (UNMUL, UNAS, UI), research bodies (BRIN), government agencies (BKSDA, Forestry, Plantation, and Environmental Departments), and the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP) to advance biodiversity research and conservation efforts. These collaborations focus on evaluating the effectiveness of biodiversity management practices, conducting soil health research, and promoting sustainable palm oil cultivation that supports biodiversity protection.

REA has also published its Environment and Biodiversity Conservation Policy, ensuring compliance with all international and domestic laws and regulations relating to conservation of the environment and biodiversity. This policy applies to all REA’s operations, employees, suppliers, third party contractors operating within REA’s plantations, as well as all associated and independent smallholders, covering activities both within and beyond HCV/HCS areas. For more information, read here.

A comprehensive database records information on species richness, distribution, and abundance, with a focus on RTE classifications per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The database is continuously updated with new records. In 2024, REA recorded 732 species within its conservation reserves, including:

Rewilding

Rewilding is a conservation approach aimed at restoring natural ecosystems to their original state by re-establishing natural processes and reducing human intervention.

Key aspects of rewilding include:

Habitat restoration – returning natural habitats to their original conditions
Species reintroduction – reintroducing native species to their natural habitats
Minimising human interference – allowing nature to function with minimal human influence

The goals of rewilding are to:

Enhance biodiversity
Restore ecosystem functions
Improve ecosystem resilience to environmental changes

Rewilding also addresses critical environmental challenges such as:

Habitat degradation
Species extinction
Climate change

Beyond ecological benefits, rewilding can also generate social and economic value by promoting eco-tourism and supporting sustainable natural resource use.

Protected / RTE Species

REA Kon conducts monitoring of Rare, Threatened, and Endangered (RTE) plant species across selected permanent sampling plots, carefully chosen to represent various habitat and land cover types.

The designation of protected tree species can be determined through national, international, and global mechanisms:

National Level

International Level

Global Level

Government regulations – The government may issue regulations to protect specific tree species.
Forestry laws – These laws govern forest protection and management, including the safeguarding of designated tree species.
Ministry of Environment – The Ministry can list protected species and regulate their conservation and sustainable management.

Protecting tree species plays a key role in:

Identifying species in need of conservation
Developing effective conservation strategies
Raising public awareness of conservation importance
Supporting the formulation of pro-conservation policies

These efforts are essential to safeguarding biodiversity and ensuring the survival of threatened tree species.

According to the IUCN Red List, one tree species in Tepian Estate—Vatica venulosa—is listed as Critically Endangered. Four other species are classified as Endangered:

Aquilaria macrocarpa in Kedaron Estate
Castanopsis argentea in Damai Estate
Dipterocarpus hasseltii in Perdana Estate
Shorea uliginosa in Tepian Estate

Habitat Protection

Conservation reserves are carefully managed to support diverse habitats. Important tree species, such as Cananga odorata, Ficus spp., and Artocarpus spp., produce abundant food resources, attracting wildlife like hornbills, butterflies, and insectivorous birds.
Arboreal Foliage Gleaning Insectivore/Frugivore (AFGI/F) birds are particularly prevalent due to the abundance of fruits and insects

Buceros rhinoceros

Microhierax fringillarius

Collaboration with Community and Stakeholders

REA Kon carries out conservation education and community engagement projects with local communities, employees, school pupils, and government stakeholders.
In 2024, these efforts continued to expand to minimise disturbances in HCV areas and to strengthen long-term collaboration through forums, information exchanges, and the distribution of conservation materials.
No conflicts between orangutans and humans were reported in 2024, highlighting successful collaboration with stakeholders such as BKSDA to mitigate conflicts and promote orangutan conservation.
Initiatives such as the Kelompok Tani Peduli Api (KTPA) engage local farming groups and villages in remediation programs and HCVA monitoring. For more information, read here.

Species Monitoring

Monitoring methods, such as camera traps and night surveys, improve the identification of elusive and nocturnal species.
Notable species recorded by camera trap or incidental observation in 2024
Critically Endangered (CR):
- Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus morio) – 6 different areas
- Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica) – 5 sites
Endangered (EN):
- Bornean Gibbon (Hylobates muelleri) – 5 sites
- Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus) – wet lowland forest and wetland areas
- Flat-Headed Cat (Prionailurus planiceps) – 4 sites
- Greater Green Leafbird (Chloropsis sonnerati) – 2 sites
- Storm’s Stork (Ciconia stormi) – rare sightings
- Wrinkled Hornbill (Rhabdotorrhinus corrugatus) – rare sightings
Reptiles:
- Siamese Freshwater Crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) – Mesangat only

Pongo pygmaeus morio

Nasalis larvatus

Hylobates muelleri

Critical and Endangered Species Monitored

In 2024, the following CR and EN species were recorded by camera trap or incidental observation:

2024	Mammals	Birds	Reptiles	Amphibians	Fish	Insects
Number of Species	88	268	64	45	113	154
Critically Endangered	2	1	2	-	-	-
Endangered	8	6	2	-	-	-
Vulnerable	13	16	3	-	1	-
Near Threatened	13	45	2	1	4	-
Least Concern	45	199	46	44	59	14
Other	7	1	9	-	49	140

Critical and Endangered Species Encountered

The graph below shows the annual totals of CR & EN species encountered across the group’s locations in 2024:

Between 2018 and 2024, there was a 163% increase in the number of RTE species recorded across REA’s conservation reserves. Having met our target of a 20% increase in RTE species encounters from the 2018 baseline, REA will continue regular monitoring to support ongoing conservation and data collection.

Future Goals

In 2025, REA will review its target, having already achieved a 20% increase in RTE species encounters since 2019, based on the 2018 baseline.
Ongoing partnerships with stakeholders will drive further advancements in biodiversity conservation.

The Community and Forest team focuses on raising awareness about the importance of environmental conservation, targeting a broad audience that includes students (primary to senior high school), REA’s employees, and communities living in and around the company’s estate areas. Maintaining harmonious relations with local communities remains a top priority to ensure mutual understanding and collaboration, particularly in areas where company operations and programmes intersect with community activities.

Key Activities and Approaches

To foster a broader understanding and shared responsibility for environmental conservation, a variety of initiatives have been implemented both within the company and in surrounding communities, including:

Educational Materials

Community Engagement

2024 Highlights

Develop and distribute outreach materials such as posters, leaflets, and stickers that promote environmental stewardship and share conservation efforts.

2024 Highlights

Programme	Activity	Target	Achieved	Achievement Rate
Awareness Raising	General outreach	28	29	104%
	Conservation events (CEC)	1	3	300%
	Internal socialisation	23	23	100%
	External socialisation	4	10	250%
	Conservation media	26	22	85%
Community Engagement	Data collection	13	20	154%
	MoUs	7	5	71%

School Awareness Activities

Conservation education sessions are routinely conducted at schools near the company’s estates to promote environmental awareness among students. In 2024, the number of sessions grew beyond initial expectations, supported by additional outreach efforts tailored to local needs.

Conservation Events (CEC)

In 2024, three major conservation-themed events were held: the Conservation Education Camp, National Waste Awareness Day, and a Scout engagement session at REA Kaltim Primary and Perdana Integrated Junior High School. These events offered hands-on environmental learning experiences for students from primary to senior high school.

Internal Socialisation

Environmental awareness sessions were delivered to employees across REA’s estates, fostering greater understanding and support for conservation efforts within the company.

External Socialisation

Engagement sessions were conducted with communities in nearby villages to strengthen awareness of environmental protection. The team expanded its outreach significantly by involving multiple villages in collective sessions.

Conservation Media

Environmental awareness sessions were delivered to employees across REA’s estates, fostering greater understanding and support for conservation efforts within the company.

Information Gathering

This initiative involved visiting villages to gather insights on local forest use and emerging conservation-related issues. The findings were used to inform the development of inclusive, community-based forest programmes. A total of 20 sessions were held across 13 villages.

MoUs with Local Landowners

To ensure clear and respectful cooperation, MoUs were established with landowners adjacent to conservation areas. These documents define mutually agreed boundaries and shared commitments. In 2024, five formal agreements were signed.

REA is fully committed to maintaining a deforestation-free supply chain, which extends beyond our own concessions through our sourcing policies and comprehensive supplier due diligence. We ensure that the FFB we source is not procured from non-compliant, deforested areas in accordance with our sustainability policy, NDPE commitments, and best management practices.

We are committed to the restoration of all non-compliant deforestation and land use conversion. This includes the restoration of HCS forests, HCV areas, peatlands and other ecologically and culturally significant lands in consultation with independent experts and in accordance with accepted international industry certification standards.

We recognise 15 November 2018 as the cutoff date for supplier compliance with all provisions of the NDPE policy. This policy applies to the operations of any company within the REA group and all of its employees and includes all third-party contractors operating within REA’s plantations, as well as all associated and independent smallholders and all suppliers. For more information, read here.

Satellite Monitoring

REA uses the Satelligence platform and Global Forest Watch's Radar Alerts for Detecting Deforestation (RADD) system to conduct biweekly monitoring of forest cover and detect land clearing activities.
These tools enable rapid investigation of potential illegal activities, both within and around REA’s concession areas, including supplier operations, ensuring prompt corrective actions to prevent further damage.
Any encroachment is investigated and, as necessary, processed in conjunction with local communities and government authorities.

Boundary Patrols

Conservation reserve boundaries are clearly marked with signboards and patrolled regularly by REA Kon staff, security teams, and local community members.
These patrols aim to monitor and prevent illegal encroachment into protected areas, safeguarding critical habitats and biodiversity.

Supplier Due Diligence

All new fresh fruit bunch (FFB) suppliers undergo a strict supplier due diligence process to ensure alignment with REA’s sustainability policies. For more information, read here.
Partnerships with external organisations, including Plan B and local government entities, support the mapping of village boundaries. This initiative plays a crucial role in mitigating the risk of deforestation within communities. For more information, read here.

Encroachment Risk Management

REA works alongside local communities and authorities to address encroachment cases, focusing on prompt resolution and adherence to legal requirements.
We adopt the RSPO New Planting Procedure (NPP) and conduct integrated High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) assessments before undertaking any new land development. For more information, read here.

Traceability

REA continues to strengthen the traceability of our FFB supply chain, ensuring full traceability to the source for external FFB processed in the group’s mills. For more information, read here.
All FFB suppliers (both direct and indirect), including smallholders, undergo a rigorous supplier due diligence process to ensure a deforestation and conversion-free (DCF) supply chain. This requires providing geolocation coordinates and polygon mapping as part of the supplier due diligence process, which mitigates deforestation risks. REA maintains a comprehensive database of all smallholder land within its supply base, ensuring that each delivery to REA mills is recorded and verified. For more information, read here.
A DCF assessment, based on land ID identification, land surveys, supplier engagement, field verification, and spatial analysis, is conducted by REA’s compliance team and GIS experts.
In 2024, 100% of third-party FFB suppliers were verified as DCF, with continued progress toward full verification across the supply chain.
In 2024, 100% of REA’s 3,743 smallholders had been assessed to ensure compliance with REA’s policies, legal requirements, and traceability standards, fostering sustainable palm oil production.

Deforestation Monitoring

Location	2018 (Hectares)	2019 (Hectares)	2020 (Hectares)	2021 (Hectares)	2022 (Hectares)	2023 (Hectares)	2024 (Hectares)
Perdana estate	-	17.0	-	-	-	-	-
Sentekan estate	-	-	5.5	-	0.2	0.1	-
Cakra estate	0.4	0.4	2.2	-	1.7	0.1	1.6
Lestari estate	1.3	6.1	4.6	-	-	-	0.7
Damai estate	-	-	0.2	-	0.2	-	1.5
Berkat estate	19.8	4.7	16.5	-	0.4	0.4	0.7
Tepian estate	8.1	14.1	7.9	-	-	4.9	3.0
Satria estate	7.5	182.4	18.5	16.4	29.2	0.1	2.6
Kedaron estate	3.8	0.1	-	-	0.5	2.0	0.4
CDM	-	34.1	55.8	1.0	1.3	2.4	3.1
PBJ2 Kaltim	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
PBJ2 Satria	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
PU	-	22.7	-	16.2	29.5	21.6	111.7
Buaya Estate	3.6	-	-	-	-	-	-
Satria Estate (IUP APT)	28.2	-	-	-	-	-	-
Elang Estate	186.1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Long Mesangat Estate	18.5	-	-	-	-	-	-
Subtotal	277.1	281.5	111.4	33.6	62.9	31.6	125.3
Outside REA concessions (areas of interest covering independent smallholder supplier locations)	164.5	63.2	59.4	2.7	3.2	890.3	885.2
Total	441.5	344.6	170.8	36.3	66.0	921.9	1,010.5

In 2024, REA recorded a total of 125.3 hectares of deforestation within its concessions due to illegal activities.

Since 2018, the total area of deforestation within REA’s concessions amounts to 923.2 hectares, while areas outside REA’s concessions total 2,068.4 hectares. There has been no non-compliant deforestation directly linked to REA’s operations.

Non-Compliant Deforestation Outside Concessions:

In 2024, monitoring identified 885.2 hectares of deforestation outside REA’s concessions. Based on investigation and field verification, all deforestation was found to be located outside of REA’s supply base. The increase in deforestation outside of the concession was due to village infrastructure and socioeconomic activities.