Memburu Titik Api di Kebakaran Hutan Kalimantan [4K]

Summary

The documentary follows an aid and volunteer team responding to active forest and peatland fires in West Kalimantan. Unlike relief efforts in Sumatra and Flores, the team’s priority in Kalimantan is reaching fire hotspots and supporting the people working there. They deliver practical supplies—including water pumps, hoses, masks, and other protective equipment—to volunteers, residents, and emergency crews.

Firefighting challenges

The presenter describes the fires as difficult to contain because peat can keep burning below the surface, even when flames appear to be out. Smoke, poor visibility, a lack of clouds, and limited water supplies complicate firefighting. Low-altitude aircraft and aerial water delivery are also described as hazardous. Fires can flare up again, and crews continue working through the night. The presenter emphasizes that the emergency is still unfolding, rather than being simply a post-disaster recovery effort.

In a village in Kubu Raya, residents say fire had spread into plantations and threatened nearby homes. With outside crews unable to easily reach the area, locals had been fighting the fire with limited equipment. The team supplies pumps and hoses while consulting community groups and local organizations about needs across the region. In Ketapang, where the team reports numerous and widespread hotspots, responders face further challenges accessing water and getting enough equipment to the fires.

Effects on communities and wildlife

The documentary highlights the crisis’s broader effects, including prolonged school closures, quiet markets, smoke exposure, and water that residents say has become salty. Fires are also damaging wildlife habitat and affecting animals, including orangutans and gibbons.

Volunteer Chelsea Nuraini, 19, says the fires are distressing but have not discouraged her from volunteering. She urges people to care for nature even when it is in poor condition.

Land use and restoration

The presenter cautions against blaming Dayak Indigenous communities for the current fires. He says their traditional, closely supervised land-clearing practices take place during rainy periods, and that this is not the time they would normally undertake them. Instead, the documentary points to land clearing and wider pressures on forests, including oil-palm expansion, while noting the region’s ecological, social, and economic complexities.

A visit to the Asri Foundation’s small forest illustrates how plantations can break connections between protected forest and wildlife habitat. The foundation hopes to restore a nearby oil-palm plot with native trees, reconnecting forest areas and creating wildlife corridors. Its representative estimates that purchasing the land and carrying out restoration and monitoring would cost about 700 million rupiah.

Closing message

The film calls for public support and greater government attention. It says a following episode will examine the causes, misconceptions, and possible responses to Indonesia’s forest-fire crisis. It also raises the idea of pooling contributions to protect forests from burning, logging, and conversion to industrial land uses.

Presenters and contributors

• Ferry Irwandi — Presenter and narrator.
• Chelsea Nuraini — 19-year-old volunteer interviewed at a fire site.
• Mustofa — Local resident and community figure interviewed in Kubu Raya.
• Asri Foundation representatives — Discuss the mini-forest and restoration plans; not individually named in the subtitles.
• Local residents, volunteers, and emergency responders — Including personnel associated with TNI, TCA, Greenpeace, MPA, fire services, and BPBD.
• Tony, Anton, and Anwar — Named during discussions about firefighting supplies and logistics in Ketapang.