As of September more than 800,000 hectares of forest have burned across the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, with Central and West Kalimantan among the worst affected areas. The fires are burning in areas that contain more than half of the Critically Endangered Bornean Orangutan population and include important strongholds for Bornean White-bearded Gibbons.

The government of Indonesia, firefighters, local communities, conservation organizations, wildlife rescuers and researchers are all responding to the fires.

But they need help.

The IUCN Primate Specialist Group’s Sections on Great and Small Apes is asking for urgent international assistance, including: 

• More technical and financial support for firefighting operations and teams
• More support for affected communities and wildlife
• More support to prevent fires from spreading into irreplaceable forests
• Sustained investment to recover tropical peat forests

Your support can help provide urgently needed resources to the organizations fighting these fires on the ground. By donating, you can help strengthen frontline firefighting efforts, protect critical ape habitat and support the teams working to prevent further loss of wildlife and forest.