Wildlife Has Nowhere To Go
The fires are not only destroying Indonesia’s forests. They are also taking away the places where wild animals live.
Parts of West Kalimantan, including Ketapang, have been affected by forest and land fires. For wildlife in these areas, burning vegetation can mean losing places to feed, rest and hide. As flames spread, animals may have to leave familiar areas and look for safer ground. Some can move towards plantations, villages and settlements while searching for food or shelter.
The situation has become especially worrying for conservation groups working to protect wildlife and restore damaged forests. In areas where fires have reached or approached protected habitat, animals can be left with fewer places to move as the surrounding forest burns.
Orangutans are among the wildlife facing the fires in West Kalimantan.
Orangutans Face The Flames
A wildfire came within about 100 metres of the YIARI orangutan rehabilitation centre in August. The centre was caring for rescued orangutans, and staff moved all the animals from forest enclosures into safer cages as the flames approached. Firefighters, conservation workers and government teams then worked to keep the blaze away from the centre.
The danger is not limited to orangutans. Kalimantan’s forests are home to many species, and the loss of vegetation can affect animals across the same ecosystem. When trees and plants burn, wildlife can lose feeding areas, cover and routes through the forest. Animals that escape the flames may then have to move through unfamiliar areas.
For animals that remain in affected forests, the problem can continue after the fire has passed. Burned areas may no longer provide the same food or shelter, while surviving vegetation can take time to recover.
Nearly 70,000 Saplings Destroyed
At Laman Satong in Ketapang, the fire also destroyed part of a forest restoration project.
According to the conservation groups involved, nearly 70,000 tree saplings planted by the Gunung Palung National Park Agency, ASRI and local communities were destroyed in the fire. The young trees were part of efforts to restore the forest, meaning an area being rebuilt for wildlife has now suffered another major loss.
The loss of the saplings also affects what the restored area could eventually provide for wildlife. Young trees need time to grow, and their destruction means the forest recovery process will have to begin again in the affected area.
The damage is not limited to Laman Satong. Patrol teams have also been helping to extinguish a fire in the Deras River restoration area, inside the forest of Pematang Gadung Village. The area is part of a wider landscape that supports orangutans and other wildlife.
72 People Arrested
Meanwhile, authorities are investigating how some of the fires started.
Indonesian police said on Aug 23 that they had arrested 72 people suspected of starting some of the recent forest and peatland fires. The suspects were being investigated in connection with 89 forest and land fire cases across five provinces on Borneo and four on Sumatra. Police said most of the suspects were accused of deliberately burning land to clear areas for plantations at a lower cost.
Investigators are also looking into whether companies financed or ordered some of the land burning. Four companies in West Kalimantan are under scrutiny over suspected involvement.
Authorities have stressed that not every wildfire has been confirmed as deliberately started. Indonesia is also dealing with an intensifying El Niño pattern and prolonged dry conditions, which have helped fires spread and made them harder to control.
The wider fire crisis has affected central and western parts of Indonesia, with thick haze also reaching neighbouring Malaysia. Authorities have deployed firefighters, helicopters and other resources to contain fires in affected regions.
For conservation workers, the work is taking place on two fronts: dealing with active fires and protecting the forests that remain. For animals, the immediate change is much simpler. The forest they relied on is becoming smaller and more damaged, leaving them with fewer places to feed, rest and move. That pressure can be especially serious during a long dry period, when remaining forest areas are already under stress.
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