{
  "id": 12448945,
  "title": "Indigenous activist Kynan Tegar on Indonesia’s fires, and defending the Earth",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/indigenous-activist-kynan-tegar-on-indonesias-fires-and-defending-the",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-06T19:06:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/podcast/2026/10/indigenous-activist-kynan-tegar-on-indonesias-fires-and-defending-the-earth/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Indigenous activist and filmmaker Kynan Tegar spoke to the Mongabay Newscast about the devastating fires in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. As of this year, approximately 48,000 hectares (about 119,000 acres) of land have burned. Kynan asserts that these fires are deliberate acts carried out by agricultural corporations. According to her, the path that has led to the current situation can be traced back to the 1970s when the Indonesian New Order regime of Suharto leased out lands as concessions to corporations. These concessions were often used for logging, palm oil plantations, and gold mining. It is reported that more than 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of peatland have been drained by these corporations. However, the issue that is not receiving as much attention is the reduced access to freshwater for Indigenous and local communities, which is being exacerbated by climate change and El Niño. Kynan notes that it is ironic that one of the world's largest rainforests is experiencing this situation while its inhabitants are struggling for water, particularly as the wildfires that have been ongoing since July have placed a significant strain on the population. In 2024, Kynan released a spoken-word music video to vividly depict and narrate the story of her community, Sungai Utik.",
  "summary": "Indigenous activist and filmmaker Kynan Tegar joins the Mongabay Newscast this week to discuss the impacts of the fires devastating Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. Some 48,000 hectares (about 119,000 acres) of land have burned so far this year; Kynan says these fires are intentional on the part of agricultural corporations. […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Mongabay",
        "title": "‘There could be local extinction’: The fight to protect Indonesia’s orangutans as El Niño fuels fires",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/there-could-be-local-extinction-the-fight-to-protect-indonesias",
        "published": "2026-10-05T11:08:46.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}