Wildfires in Indonesia's West Kalimantan, on Borneo, and prolonged drought are leaving wildlife without access to fresh water, as small natural pools in forests dry up and village ponds become brackish. Dehydrated animals are approaching settlements and coastal areas in search of water, while residents and conservation organizations set up water stations and organize rescues. The crisis also extends to human communities, where increased salinity is making water supplies harder to maintain and putting food production at risk.
According to preliminary findings by the organization Yayasan Planet Indonesia, at least 16 dead animals were recorded from early August to late September in the coastal district of Kubu Raya, amid an intense fire season. They included silvered langurs, long-tailed macaques and proboscis monkeys, an endangered primate found only on Borneo. By comparison, SMART monitoring patrols had recorded 13 dead animals, excluding fish, in the same area between September 2020 and June 2026, with most deaths attributed to natural causes or left unexplained. The organization's cofounder, Adam Miller, said such findings had not been seen before.
Primate conservation organization YIARI reported that it had rescued 43 orangutans since August from areas of Ketapang and North Kayong affected by fires. Many had burns, dehydration or malnutrition, while the organization also received reports of affected snakes, turtles and pangolins. YIARI's Karmele Llano Sanchez said the last similarly large rise in rescues occurred during the 2015 El Niño, when more than 80 orangutans were rescued. She said addressing climate change is essential to limit the problem.
Indonesia's meteorological agency, BMKG, says the country is experiencing a very strong El Niño, with conditions expected to persist until early 2027. In September, rainfall across much of Kalimantan was below 50 millimeters per ten-day period. According to the Nusantara Atlas FireWatch platform, 895,657 hectares burned nationwide from January to August 2026, an area already larger than that recorded for any full year in its data except 2019 and 2023. About 79,391 hectares burned in West Kalimantan over the same period, including about 53,893 in August alone, ranking the province third in the country for burned area.
The prolonged lack of rain is also straining coastal freshwater sources. Rainfall and freshwater flows normally help limit seawater intrusion, but this year salinity rose in the Kapuas River and other sources used by the water utility in the provincial capital, Pontianak. Authorities were forced to bring in fresh water from other areas. On September 19, the municipal administration received five million liters from Kubu Raya for treatment at a water supply plant.
In Kubu Raya, residents began leaving water for animals after noticing them approaching settlements and the coast in a dehydrated state. Planet Indonesia and village patrol teams set up six water stations in the forest, using buckets or shallow tanks and monitoring cameras. Within an hour of the first two being installed on September 18, animals were already drinking, including large groups of langurs and female proboscis monkeys carrying their young. Miller explained that the stations also needed to serve animals that rarely come down from the trees, while each site was included in patrols because gatherings of thirsty animals can attract hunters.
YIARI is working with residents, firefighters and authorities to rescue and care for animals, releasing some, including pangolins, in safer areas. Sanchez pointed out that burns are directly linked to fire and described the case of an orangutan that developed an acute respiratory infection, which the team said contributed to its death. The rescues thus address different consequences of the crisis, from injuries to dehydration and malnutrition.
The risks to coastal communities extend beyond water supplies, Sanchez warned. She said rising sea levels, declining freshwater reserves and the degradation of coastal peatlands allow brackish water to penetrate further inland. Increasing salinity could destroy or damage rice and other food crops near the coast, threatening residents' livelihoods and food security.
The organizations' representatives are calling for stronger preparedness before fires break out, alongside a continued supply of water and patrols to protect wildlife. Sanchez argued that the intensity of El Niño had been forecast months earlier and that companies should have prepared with sufficient firefighting personnel, equipment and funding. She also stressed the need for better peatland management, as drainage canals and oil palm plantations on such land can encourage fires in future dry seasons. Without appropriate policies and effective implementation, she warned, prolonged droughts will bring back the same problems.
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