In June, REA’s conservation team (“REA Kon”) received a week of training from the Zoological Society of London’s (“ZSL”) Indonesian Conservation team in the use of new software they have developed to assist palm oil producers to monitor and manage High Conservation Values (“HCV”). This tool is designed to manage and analyse the data collected through both routine patrols of the conservation reserves and the various biodiversity surveys that are undertaken by the REA Kon team and visiting scientists. The data collected includes information concerning threats to biodiversity and the ecosystem, such as logging, pollution and hunting, as well as the presence and distribution of species. The use of this tool will assist REA Kon to design more effective management interventions to maintain and enhance the biodiversity and ecosystem functions present within REA’s oil palm concessions.

Sunday, June 1, 2014