Human-set fires took center stage as the Amazon was set ablaze for cattle ranching. Satellite images of Central Africa show a region engulfed in flames as farmers cleared land for crops. Human-wildlife conflict led villagers to set fire to India’s Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Borneo’s jungles burned, replaced by monoculture plantations.
While sprung from different causes, these fires were all made more severe by hotter, drier temperatures, and their aftermath leaves further climatic devastation in their wake. According to CNN, in Indonesian Borneo, “infernos have ignited a climate bomb with disastrous consequences for the world in years to come.” The CNN Special Report gives a heartbreaking account of the destruction of Borneo’s rainforests, detailing the struggles of those battling the blaze.
How did the inferno come to be? Palm oil production is the primary culprit. Palm oil is a product found in a plethora of foods and household goods. It thrives in lowland rainforests, and massive tracts of jungle are being cleared to support this cash crop. Indonesia is in the midst of a modern-day gold rush, and currently supplies 55 percent of the world’s palm oil.
But fires set by palm oil companies and landholders have grown out of control. In Borneo this year alone, fires tore across 3,311 square miles of pristine rainforest and the peatlands that lie beneath it. “Fires smolder deep underground in thick layers of dead plant matter—peatlands—and can reignite almost as soon as they’re extinguished,” CNN reports. This peat-swamp is the largest natural terrestrial carbon sink on the planet, and from August to October 2019, the blazes caused 626 megatons of CO2 to be released into the atmosphere.
The plight of the people and animals there became dire, as breathing conditions worsened and habitats were destroyed. In the summer of 2019, an estimated 920,000 people were affected by acute respiratory problems due to toxic fumes from uncontainable fires. Orangutans fought for their lives amid smoke and ashes, leaving this critically endangered species ever more vulnerable.
As global demand continues to grow, a surge in palm oil production is causing deforestation on a massive scale. In response, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil was created, with the aim of transforming the market to make responsibly-sourced palm oil the norm. RSPO envisions “a space where oil palm, the environment, and local communities can coexist in harmony.” CNN outlines conservation measures implemented by the RSPO, including how “it prohibits its members from starting land clearance fires and from planting on peatlands, and monitors plantations using satellite technology.” RSPO also has requirements in regards to the size of plots, landscape connectivity and fair labor.
Consumers have a crucial choice when it comes to what they purchase—those products that contain unsustainable palm oil and those that are made with palm oil produced sustainably. World Wildlife Fund has a Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard, which is a helpful online resource to use when seeking out supermarket brands that are RSPO-certified.
In addition to a move toward sustainably-produced palm oil, ecotourism provides another positive economic driver. Borneo is home to some of the oldest and grandest rainforests on Earth, with many unique, endemic species, including clouded leopards, pygmy elephants, sun bears, pangolins, flying fox bats, and of course, Bornean orangutans. Rare orchids and carnivorous pitcher plants are among the 15,000 plants found there. This biodiversity hotspot is a veritable Eden for nature travelers, and the value of tourism in the region helps support local communities while encouraging the protection of wildlife-rich habitats.
The devastating impacts of a world on fire have ultimately been caused by our unquenchable desire for more—the production of more resources; the clearing of more land; the generation of more income. But as we increase our consumption year by year, the growing number of regions consumed by fires casts shadows on human “progress.” As firefighters struggle to quell the flames, humankind’s insatiable hunger must be abated, lest we risk further environmental catastrophes. It is clear we must reevaluate our relationship with the natural world and how the choices we make affect animals and habitats. It is our hope that crises like the fires in Borneo and those occurring across the globe bring attention to these irreplaceable natural realms, and help show others why they are worth protecting.
Emily combines her passions for animals, cultural anthropology and exploration as a conservation travel writer at Natural Habitat Adventures. As a part of the editorial team, she aims to be a voice for wildlife and has traveled to 100+ UNESCO World Heritage Sites across six continents seeking stories. Her favorite trips include traveling aboard the real-life Hogwarts Express and exploring fairy realms on the Isle of Skye, photographing lions in the Ngorongoro Crater and the Great Migration in the Serengeti; family vacations to the Cotswolds, Greek Islands, Swiss Alps and the Loire Valley; greeting geisha in Kyoto and staying in a thatched cottage in Shirakawa-go; strolling through Hobbiton in New Zealand; horseback riding in Zimbabwe; dolphin and sea turtle-spotting along the Napali Coast; enjoying a thali in India and honeymooning in the Amalfi Coast.
Together, Natural Habitat Adventures and World Wildlife Fund have teamed up to arrange nearly 100 nature travel experiences around the planet, while helping to protect the magnificent places we visit and their wild inhabitants.
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