{"id":7706,"date":"2019-08-10T12:57:07","date_gmt":"2019-08-10T19:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orangutan.com\/?p=7706"},"modified":"2025-11-06T17:34:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T01:34:52","slug":"indonesia-in-flames-surviving-the-dry-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orangutan.com\/indonesia-in-flames-surviving-the-dry-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Indonesia in Flames: Surviving the Dry Season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A potential threat to all living creatures, wildfires rage\nevery day; but during the dry season in the many provinces of Indonesia these\ninfernos threaten some of the world\u2019s most endangered wildlife. The Orangutan\nConservancy\u2019s president, Dr. Rafaella Commitante emailed me late last night\nwith a picture from the island of Borneo. The smoke-filled streets of East\nKalimantan reminded me of morning fog, yet I knew this was a result of\nsomething far worse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Smoke-filled streets of East Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia.
Received from Dr. Commitante on 8\/4\/2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Indonesia is well into its dry season and fires have already\nstarted ranging in multiple areas. Since August 1st<\/sup> there have been 125\nfire alerts<\/a> in the province of Kalimantan Timur (East Kalimantan) alone!\nAdditionally, 19% of those fire alerts have been inside the boundaries of\nprimary forest regions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

East Kalimantan is home to the only remaining large, wild\npopulation of Northeast Bornean Orangutans (Pongo\npygmaeus morio<\/em>) in addition to the long-term field project called the Orangutan Kutai Project<\/a>,\nwhich is led by our very own board member, Dr. Anne Russon. Just two decades\nago Kutai National Park was considered an ecological wasteland, created by\nhuman development and intense wildfires that swept through the region. At that\ntime researchers concluded that an important population of around 600\norangutans had been decimated by these events and were dwindling at just 30\nwild individuals. Then in 2010, national park surveys of Kutai found that\ndespite these horrific events the forest and orangutan population had been\nrecovering surprisingly well. Those surveys estimated the current orangutan\npopulation to be between 1,000 and 2,000\nindividuals<\/a> with a healthy reproductive population as well. Although this\nspecific example showcases a habitat and population that was able to recover\nrelatively well, not all regions are able to experience this type of outcome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just four years ago in 2015, fires engulfed about 5\nmillion acres<\/a> of the Kalimantan province including 25% of orangutan range\nareas (aka orangutan habitat). Fires in this region are not unlike the causes\nof wildfires right here in the U.S. Tinderbox conditions (dried out land and\nplants), forest-clearing fires, poor land management, and dried out peat-swamps\nare just some of the main causes that scorched regions have experienced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Smoke from the fires in the Sintang Regency in the
Province of West Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the most severe causes to forest fires is a result of\ndrained and dried out peat swamps, like the ones in Sabangau National Forest.\nThis forest, also home to our latest funded project with the Borneo Nature\nFoundation has seen its fair share of forest fires due to the poor forest\nmanagement of the peat-swamped habitats. A peat-swamp<\/a>\nforest can be compared to a giant sponge, wherein the soil retains an extremely\nhigh volume of water and can form a dome that rises above surrounding flood\nlevels. These types of forests are extremely important ecosystems as they\ncapture and hold a large amount of carbon dioxide, not to mention they help\nprevent flooding as well as keep regions from experiencing droughts in the dry\nseason. Peat-swamps hold a tremendous amount of water and release it slowly\nthroughout the season which support local communities and wildlife. In fact,\nBornean and Sumatran Orangutans have both been found to inhabit peat-swamp\nforests. Now the tragedy that befalls peat swamp forests comes with\ndeforestation. When deforestation occurs, the water held in the peat\n(underground) is released and the remaining dry peat is extremely flammable,\noften supporting fires for days and even weeks (also releasing more carbon into\nthe atmosphere). Another consequence of losing this type of forest, other than\nthe obvious wildlife impacts, is the release of carbon dioxide into the\natmosphere (in addition to the carbon released by fires) which adds to the\ntotal emissions of greenhouse gases caused by human activity. Since peat swamps\naccumulate such a high volume of carbon over thousands of years it is\nparticularly alarming that the draining of one can release the carbon in just\nhundreds of subsequent years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fires are a common occurrence worldwide, but without\nconservationists and concerned individuals like you, forest fires could be the\ndemise of precious forested habitat and endangered species like the orangutan.\nConservation projects like the Orangutan Kutai project help initiatives to\npreserve forests from this type of activity by reporting illegal logging that\ncould very well lead to forest wildfires. Furthering research in these forested\nareas is another great way to ensure the safety of the wildlife and primary\nforests of the region. By increasing the scientific knowledge of the benefits\nof these pristine forests as well as the negative impacts of deforestation on\nwildlife, we can help ensure the longevity of endangered species. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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