Volunteers fight uphill battle against Indonesian fires

In West Kalimantan, Indonesia, volunteer firefighters like Kristoforus Sinyong are battling wildfires amidst a challenging situation. The 27-year-old, who works as a horticulture instructor by day, works tirelessly through the night to contain fires that have engulfed parts of Borneo and Sumatra. Kristoforus and his small team of firefighters rely on basic equipment like gumboots, a small water pump, knapsack sprayers, and six hoses provided by an environmental NGO.

They lack formal training and face numerous obstacles, including the terrain and limited human resources. The lush forest in West Kalimantan is dotted with burnt earth, often cleared by local farmers for agriculture. The primary cause of these wildfires is attributed to large companies like palm oil producers engaging in illegal slash-and-burn land clearing.

West Kalimantan is currently enduring its annual dry season, exacerbated by the historically strong El Nino weather pattern, which the United Nations warns could be the strongest in four decades. The effects of El Nino include drought, leading to the current crisis. Though no one on Kristoforus' team has been injured, the work is dangerous and tiring, often conducted at night, making it difficult to navigate the terrain.

So far this year, nearly 300,000 hectares of land have burned in Indonesia, with experts warning of a catastrophic burning season, potentially as severe as the 2015-16 season. David Gaveau, founder of Nusantara Atlas, attributes the wildfires to deforestation and forest degradation over the past 50 years, with El Nino acting merely as a trigger.