Skip to content
  • Who we are
    • About Us
    • Our Partners
    • Contact us
  • What we do
    • We Learn
    • We Protect
    • We Restore
    • We Inspire
  • Act Now
    • Donate
    • Fundraise for us
    • Partner with us
    • Field Courses
    • Shop & Support
    • Back a Campaign
  • Stories
  • Login
  • Who we are
    • About Us
    • Our Partners
    • Contact us
  • What we do
    • We Learn
    • We Protect
    • We Restore
    • We Inspire
  • Act Now
    • Donate
    • Fundraise for us
    • Partner with us
    • Field Courses
    • Shop & Support
    • Back a Campaign
  • Stories
  • Login
donate now
  • Conservation
  • | Written by Admin

Why are peat-swamp forests so vulnerable to fire?


The current intense dry season is leading to fires, across Borneo and Sumatra, which have taken hold in peatland areas. Logic might dictate that these areas should not be susceptible to fire: they are swamps, after all, swamps are by definition wet and wet things don’t burn, so surely peat swamps should be highly resistant to fire. Why on Earth, then, are fires currently raging throughout Borneo and Sumatra’s peatlands?

Peatland burning on the edge of the city of Palangkaraya (Indonesian Borneo) this month. Photo by Suzanne Turnock/OuTrop


The logic that peat-swamp forests should be wet and resistant to fire is entirely true, and historical evidence indeed suggests that fires in peatlands were very rare events up until just a few decades ago. The problem occurs when – yep, you guessed it – humans start disrupting natural processes.

Peat is formed under very wet conditions, when dead plant material is unable to decay in the flooded environment. This leads to a build-up of partially decomposed organic matter, which over time accumulates in peat domes, like the Sabangau Forest, OuTrop’s main research site. Here, the peat is around 26,000 years old and measures more than 12 metres deep in the centre. These peat domes act as a giant sponge, absorbing water to prevent floods during the wet season, and staying wet to prevent fire during the dry season. If buried over millennia, peat deposits become coal.

Peat-swamp should be wet and fire resistant, but due to human activities peat-swamps in Borneo and Sumatra are at risk from fires every year during the dry season. Photo by Chris Owen/OuTrop


Unfortunately, human use of peatlands typically involves peat drainage through man-made canals. This is usually done in an attempt to make the land more suitable for agriculture or habitation, but also for loggers to transport timber from inside the forest to processing points on rivers. The worst example is the failed Mega Rice Project of the mid-1990’s, which aimed to drain 1 million hectares of peatland in Central Kalimantan and convert it to rice production. The area now suffers from extensive fires each year, representing a true ecological catastrophe.

The ex-Mega Rice Project area burning in 2006. Photo by CIMTROP.


The problem is that, like coal, dry peat is highly flammable. This means that fire can easily take hold in areas of drained peatland and, once started, fires are incredibly difficult to extinguish as they burn underground.

Drainage of peatlands is the root cause of the current fire crisis in Indonesia, as this removes the natural protection from fire that intact peatlands receive.  Drought does, however, play an important role in determining the level of fire risk in a particular year, and this role will be examined in an upcoming blog post.

You can support OuTrop and local firefighting efforts in Borneo here.  




Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • October 5, 2015
3 min read
Share to:
Categories:
  • Conservation
MAKE THE CONNECTION.

Get updates from rainforest, job opps, ways to acts and more with our monthly(ish) action letter. 

"(Required)" indicates required fields

Name(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related Posts

  • Conservation, Rainforests
  • - June 7, 2025

25 Years of Protecting

The Borneo Nature Foundation (BNF) was founded 25 years ago to champion the protection of the Sebangau peat-swamp rainforest in southern Borneo. This forest harbours

Read more

  • Camera Traps, Conservation, Scientific Research
  • - April 12, 2025

25 Years of Learning

We exist because of scientific research. BNF (or The Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project, as we were then known) was formed 25 years ago off the

Read more

  • Conservation
  • - April 12, 2025

25 Years of Borneo Nature Foundation

Have you heard? We’re turning 25 this year! By nature's standards, 25 years isn't a long time. In fact, it's not even long enough for

Read more

  • Community Development, Conservation
  • - March 8, 2025

Women’s welfare and wildlife

In Borneo and around the world, women are a driving force for conservation in their communities. Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate the vital

Read more

  • Conservation, Firefighting and Prevention, Rainforests
  • - March 6, 2025

Peat Power!

Protect Our Peat-Powered Planet Peat is important. Maybe you’ve heard that before, but chances are this knowledge probably hasn’t impacted your day-to-day life much beyond

Read more

  • Conservation, Year Highlights
  • - February 15, 2025

Could You Be the One (%)?

It’s Valentine’s Day, and Cupid’s not the only matchmaker in town... We’re excited to announce that we’ve joined 1% for the Planet to find our

Read more

  • Conservation, Year Highlights
  • - February 1, 2025

Best of Borneo Nature Foundation 2024

2024 was a BIG year for us here at BNF – and we've got the numbers to prove it! As our teams forge ahead with

Read more

  • Conservation, Firefighting and Prevention, Rainforests
  • - November 30, 2024

We give a dam: Here’s why you should too 

Conventional wisdom suggests that dams are universally bad for wildlife, that they disrupt natural processes and damage critical wetland ecosystems. However, there are some exceptions

Read more

  • Conservation, Rainforests
  • - October 2, 2024

Rainforests and You: Make the Connection

It's in your lungs. It's in your fridge, your medicine cabinet and your weather forecast.​ It affects your life every. single. day.​ It may be

Read more

  • Conservation, Rainforests, Wildlife
  • - August 24, 2024

Baby Orangutans: A New Hope

Earlier this week we shared the exciting news that three new baby orangutans have been born close to one of our camps in the last

Read more

  • Conservation, Firefighting and Prevention
  • - June 18, 2023

Peatland Degradation Poses a Major Threat to Borneo’s Forests: Here’s What We Can Do

Land degradation, climate change and biodiversity loss are intrinsically linked and increasingly affecting human wellbeing. Under climate change, extreme weather events such as drought and

Read more

  • 1 Million Trees, Conservation, Partners and Supporters
  • - March 21, 2023

Can’t See the Trees for the Forest

WHEN YOU CAN’T SEE THE TREES FOR THE FOREST Features | Posts | Conservation Borneo is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, host

Read more

CASH IS A FORCE FOR GOOD; FUND ACTION ON ALL FRONTS
DONATE NOW

We collaborate to protect Borneo’s rainforest, one of the most important on Earth, with science, community-led action and education; for a world where people and nature thrive.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Login
  • Donate
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Login
  • Donate
  • Annual Reports
  • Policies
  • Annual Reports
  • Policies
Facebook-f Youtube X-twitter Instagram Linkedin-in
© 2025 Borneo Nature Foundation. All rights reserved.