In the sweltering peatlands of Indonesian Borneo, a silent yet deadly inferno has been raging for months, releasing ancient carbon stores and choking Southeast Asia with toxic haze. Volunteer firefighters, many from indigenous communities, are battling not just flames but a complex environmental crisis that threatens health, livelihoods, and the global climate. Their fight against the subterranean peat fires reveals a story of resilience amid ecological catastrophe and exposes the deeper roots of Indonesia’s wildfire emergency.
Peat Fires: A Carbon Time Bomb Beneath the Surface
Unlike typical forest fires that burn above ground, Indonesia’s peat fires smoulder underground, consuming layers of decomposed organic matter accumulated over thousands of years. These peatlands, spanning 4.5 million hectares in Borneo alone, are among the planet’s most efficient carbon sinks. Under natural, waterlogged conditions, peat stores vast amounts of carbon, preventing it from escaping into the atmosphere.
But when these peatlands dry out—often due to drainage for agriculture and plantations—they become tinderboxes. The fires release enormous quantities of carbon dioxide, methane, and carbon monoxide, contributing significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists have dubbed these blazes “carbon bombs” because of their potential to unleash ancient carbon stores rapidly, accelerating climate change.
Dr. Nisa Novita, a peatland expert, notes that some peat deposits in Kalimantan reach depths exceeding 20 meters, holding carbon stocks equivalent to thousands of cars’ annual emissions per hectare. The scale of the current fires—over 200,000 hectares since July—means the carbon pulse is alarmingly large.
Volunteers on the Frontline: Fighting Fires in Toxic Haze
At the heart of this crisis are thousands of volunteer firefighters, including indigenous Dayak and Banjar people, who risk their health and lives to contain the blazes. Armed with hand tools, portable pumps, and sheer determination, they dig canals, bore wells, and saturate the ground to extinguish fires that often reignite from deep underground.
The conditions are brutal. The air is thick with acrid smoke that burns eyes and lungs, laden with microparticles that penetrate deep into the respiratory system. Two volunteer firefighters have recently died, underscoring the perilous nature of the battle. Many volunteers endure exhaustion and separation from their families, driven by a sense of duty to protect their homeland and the wider region.
Fahrin Ramadhianto, a volunteer in South Kalimantan, describes the smell of burning peat as “decaying wood,” a constant reminder of the organic matter fueling the fires. The smoke’s health impacts extend far beyond the fire zones, with hospital admissions for respiratory infections soaring across Indonesia and neighboring countries.
Historical Land Use and the Industrial Footprint of Disaster
While traditional farming methods involving controlled burns by indigenous communities have been blamed historically, experts argue that large-scale industrial activities are the primary drivers of the current crisis. Since the Suharto era, vast tracts of rainforest and peat swamp have been cleared for logging, plantations, and monoculture agriculture, often involving aggressive drainage of peatlands.
Draining peatlands lowers the water table, leaving the soil vulnerable to drying and ignition. Professor Susan Page from the University of Leicester highlights that peatlands are not ideal for plantations, but economic pressures and mechanized agriculture have pushed development into these fragile ecosystems. This has not only increased fire risk but also turned peatlands into continuous sources of carbon emissions, even when not burning.
Deforestation and peatland degradation in Kalimantan have accelerated, with nearly 160,000 hectares lost in 2025 alone. This environmental transformation disrupts the natural balance that indigenous communities have long maintained through sustainable land use practices like uma bukit, or hill farming.
Regional and Global Consequences of the Peatland Fires
The fires’ impact transcends Indonesia’s borders. The resulting haze spreads across Southeast Asia, affecting air quality in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and the Philippines. Pollution levels have reached hazardous extremes, leading to a surge in respiratory illnesses, especially among vulnerable populations such as young children.
The release of greenhouse gases from peat fires contributes significantly to global warming, undermining international climate goals. The fires serve as a stark reminder that local environmental mismanagement can have far-reaching consequences for planetary health.
Challenges Ahead: Water Scarcity and the Need for Sustainable Solutions
Efforts to combat peat fires are hampered by water shortages, as saturating the ground to prevent re-ignition requires enormous volumes of water. Volunteer firefighters like Dwi Sujatmoko emphasize that the ground must become “like porridge” to extinguish smouldering peat effectively, a difficult task amid ongoing drought conditions exacerbated by a Super El Niño event.
Beyond firefighting, addressing the root causes demands a shift in land management policies. This includes halting peatland drainage, restoring degraded areas, and supporting indigenous stewardship of forests. Without such systemic changes, the cycle of fire, haze, and carbon emissions will likely repeat, with escalating costs to human health and the climate.
As the smoke continues to hang over Borneo, the bravery of volunteer firefighters stands as a testament to human resilience in the face of environmental crisis. Their struggle underscores the urgent need for coordinated action to protect these vital ecosystems before the carbon bombs beneath the surface explode beyond control.
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For more context, see related Peack News coverage and explainers linked below.