Forests Are Burning in Kalimantan
Right now, forest fires are spreading fast across Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). Exacerbated by drought and this year’s El Niño effect, fragmented, drying forest has turned this year's dry season into a full emergency, and wildlife is being pushed straight into the path of danger.
Our partners on the ground atConservation Action Network(CAN) have already documented 13 orangutan cases since July. Ten individuals have been relocated to safer forest, and three are currently in rehabilitation at Long Sam. Every one of these cases shows just how much pressure this landscape is under.
What's happening
Forest loss isn't just a habitat problem. It's what turns an ordinary dry season into a crisis:
- Degradation fragments once-connected habitat.
- Drying shrinks water sources and turns vegetation into fuel.
- Fire spreads rapidly through what's left.
- Conflict follows, as wildlife is forced toward people.
CAN's teams are meeting this head-on. They're mapping fire risk, verifying hotspots, and running suppression and mop-up operations by hand in terrain that vehicles simply can't reach. At the same time, they're standing ready to assess, stabilise, and rescue orangutans and other wildlife caught in the crossfire.
Why we're backing them
This is exactly the kind of coordinated, community-rooted response that protects both forest and lives. CAN works closely with local communities and government, combining local knowledge, field capacity, and rapid coordination to detect fires early, contain them quickly, and get wildlife the help it needs.
The total we are looking to raise is USD 40,000. Of that, 75% goes directly to fire response, covering equipment, PPE, deployment, patrols, and training, while 25% supports wildlife rescue, including deployment, veterinary care, relocation, and rehabilitation intake.
