Every year forest fires return to Borneo and engulf the region in a toxic haze for months on end. Urgent help is needed to prevent the fires from returning and to prepare the brave frontline firefighters who protect people and wildlife, save the forest and stop the peat fires that are a major driver of global climate change.
Borneo’s vast peatland forests are home to the largest orangutan populations in the world, provide economic and social benefits for indigenous communities, and are a major carbon store. Sadly, these forests are being destroyed by annual fires resulting from decades of poor land management.
You may remember the peat fires in 2015 and, more recently, in 2019. Massive fires swept through the region, driven by an extended drought caused by global climate conditions and human activities. These fires destroyed over 2.2 million hectares of forest, including the habitat of over 3,000 orangutans, and released huge amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and choking gasses implicated in the deaths of over 100,000 people. Let’s not let this happen again!
Help us to implement grassroots solutions to tackle the impacts and the causes of the fires, and create long-term fire-prevention strategies. We direct resources towards both prevention and emergency response as we are committed to reducing the risk of fires and improving local capacity to fight the flames.
The biggest long-term problem inside Borneo’s peat-swamp forest is drainage. Man-made canals dug to remove timber, in the past, are now draining the peat, drying it out and sending the fire-risk skyrocketing. BNF is working to solve this problem by blocking hundreds of canals in the Sebangau National Park Forest to re-wet the peat and prevent fires igniting.
Restoration of this forest will take time, and in the meantime, fires will continue to occur so we need to be ready. Local community firefighting teams, established and supported by BNF, work tirelessly to extinguish dry-season fires and prevent the spread of more blazes. BNF also supports the CIMTROP TSA firefighting team, which has been active through five major fire events over the past 18 years; and we are connecting all of these community teams through the Indonesian Disaster Agency.
Please help us support these committed men and women working on the frontline so they can stay mobilised for as long as it takes to stop Borneo’s devastating fires. In return for your support, you will receive a thank you e-certificate and regular campaign updates.
Borneo Nature Foundation is a not-for-profit conservation organisation. We work to protect some of the most important areas of tropical rainforest and to safeguard the wildlife, environment and indigenous culture on Borneo.
