TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An extreme increase in the number of hotspots has been detected in the Bornean orangutan habitat in August 2026, reaching a total of 17,375 hotspots. Compared to June and July, the hotspots spread more extensively and densely in August. Most of the fires occurred right within the orangutan habitat areas.
“Out of 22,744 hotspots detected throughout Kalimantan from June 1st to August 28th, 2026, 17,865 hotspots, or 78.5 percent, were located within the orangutan habitat area,” said Annisa Rahmawati, Senior Wildlife Campaigner of Geopix, in a statement shared on Thursday, September 3, 2026.
Annisa mentioned that Geopix released its first series of monitoring for this year's forest and land fires in Kalimantan and their impact on the umbrella species, the Bornean orangutan. Geopix's analysis used official government data from June 1 to August 28, 2026. These data can be found at https://sipongi.gakkum.kehutanan.go.id/.
The hotspot data were then overlaid with the habitat area data for all three subspecies of Bornean orangutans: Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus, P.p wurmbii, and P.p morio.
The analysis revealed that 25,812,699 hectares of the orangutan habitat area were affected by the fires during the monitoring period. This means that 60.2 percent of the total orangutan habitat area in Kalimantan, covering 42,831,834 hectares, was burned.
The habitat of the Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii subspecies suffered the most severe impact from the fires. In August, the number of hotspots in this habitat soared drastically to 13,085 from 1,123 in July.
This figure is significantly higher than those of other subspecies in the same month: Pongo pygmaeus morio (709 hotspots from 195) and Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus (716 hotspots from 91).
According to Annisa, this finding shows that the fires up to this point have significantly impacted the habitat of the Bornean orangutan. “The fires not only pose a threat to forest cover, but also have the potential to disrupt food sources, nesting trees, habitat connectivity, and the sustainability of the Bornean orangutan population,” she said.
From the vulnerability analysis matrix of orangutans to the fires, some habitat pockets were identified as the most critical areas due to small populations facing high fire risk. These areas include Muller-Schwaner, Western Schwaner, and Seruyan-Sampit. Geopix considers emergency responses necessary for these three areas.
Several others have relatively low threats and are therefore focused on monitoring and restoration. Examples include Belayan-Senyiur, Beratus, and Sabangau. Meanwhile, areas such as the Rungan River, Katingan, and Gunung Palung are important habitats that need to be prioritized for fire prevention and protection.
Currently, habitat pockets with large populations facing high fire points have not been mapped. “But this is the worst-case scenario if hotspots continue to increase extremely in areas with remaining orangutan populations,” Annisa said.
Annisa added that Geopix believes the Indonesian government has failed to mitigate this year's forest fire disaster. The government is even suspected of still attempting to weaken forest protection, which deprives the people and iconic Indonesian wildlife of their right to a healthy environment.
“The most important thing right now is to extinguish the fires and save as much of the remaining orangutan habitat as possible, while also reducing their direct impact on both humans and orangutans.”
After the fires, Geopix urges a comprehensive resurvey of the Bornean orangutan habitat and population. This aims to evaluate the extent of the damage, the state of the population, the availability of food and nesting materials, and other significant changes that affect the Bornean orangutan habitat.
The results should form the basis of an immediate "reset" for the Bornean orangutan's Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA), as the previous conservation baseline data may no longer be relevant. Based on the last PHVA in 2016, the total wild Bornean orangutan population in Kalimantan was 57,350 individuals.
“We also urge the government to develop an Emergency Action Plan for the Rescue of Bornean Orangutan Population and Habitat, which includes population rescue and monitoring, habitat and corridor protection, repeated fire prevention, law enforcement, and ecosystem restoration,” Annisa said.
Read: Indonesia Confirms Death of Rescued Orangutan Amid Haze Crisis
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
