
Tuanan Fire 9/22/19
Funding Goal: $55,166 —
Amount Raised: $34,215 (updated 9/26/2019)
Click “here” for the full budget and to see how your donations will help
Thank you for your support for our fire efforts at the Tuanan Orangutan Research Station in Central Kalimantan Indonesia on the island of Borneo. We have conducted long-term research (see here https://coreborneo.com/research/) on over 130 wild orangutans since 2003 in the research area located in the 309,000 ha Mawas Conservation Area. This area has one of the highest densities of wild orangutans in the world.
Thanks to our supporters we came close to reaching our goal but due to worsening conditions and fires getting out of control due to high winds and no rain we had to update the budget. The fires are very close to the research station, and moving in. The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation is working closely with the Tuanan research and fire team to fight these fires. We are working with them as one team to get this fire under control but it is not looking good right now. The conditions are very dry and the winds have picked up. See below for our most recent update from the field.
All of us at CORE Borneo and the Tuanan Orangutan Research Team cannot begin to express how grateful we are. In addition to incredible support from individual donors, and are grateful to the following organizations:
- All of our friends and family who have donated to us!!!!!
- Orangutan Outreach (https://redapes.org/) – thank you for your continued support for fighting the 2015 and 2019 fires!
- Orangutan Conservancy (https://www.orangutan.com/) – thank you for your rapid response!
- Orangutan SSP (https://www.orangutanssp.org/) – thank you for your rapid response!
- The Leakey Foundation (https://leakeyfoundation.org/) – your continual research and emergency support is so generous! Thank you for believing in our team
- Save The Orangutans (https://savetheorangutan.org/): Thank you for your donation of a much needed satellite phone and drone to monitor the fires!
UPDATE: Sept. 22, 2019: We received some urgent news from the Tuanan team today – the fires have flared up and are rapidly approaching the research station. Evacuations have begun for the station and the fire team is working hard to wet the area around the research station. We are working very closely with the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (https://orangutan.or.id/) on these fire activities and they are sending immediate reinforcement to work with the team and working with the local Indonesian government to help with fire fighting activities. We are happy to partner with BOSF and for their assistance in protecting this very important orangutan habitat. The Mawas Conservation Area (https://coreborneo.com/study-site/) is home to over 4,000 wild orangutans and one of the largest populations in Central Kalimantan. We have been studying orangutans at this site since 2003 with the BOSF team. Our fire team is working around the clock to fight these fires and try to save the forest and the orangutans in the area. Your support helps us send in reinforcement. Thank you!!!

MODIS Satellite data of the fires threatening the Tuanan station and research area





Fire 9/22/19 at Tuanan
UPDATE: Sept. 13, 2019: We received some news today from our amazing research and fire team today who are working day and night in collaboration with BOSF Mawas and their fire team to control the fires near the Tuanan Research Station and the village of Pasir Putih. Luckily this year we were more prepared than is 2015 thanks to all of your generous donations. Our fire team installed over 60 new hydrants since 2015 alone and have been working to keep the trails free so we have access to all regions within and outside of the study area. We could not do this without you.
The team has gotten the fires near the station and in the research area under control and now they are monitoring the north and the south. While focusing on the smoldering peat, they are also fighting the large fires closer to Pasir Putih, the village where our staff members live (Research Technicians, Fire Team, Cooks, Boatman).


NASA FIRMS images from 9/13/2019 of The Kapuas River region and the Tuanan research station (left) and the fires in Borneo (right). All of the red dots and squares are active fires (hot spots).
We face a lot of challenges over the next few months. Out team will have to continue monitoring the forest with the drone and on the ground to make sure the fires do not start up again. The peat is still smoldering but if we keep it wet we should be able to get it out completely. We will keep you all posted! And thank you again for your support!
UPDATE: Sept. 9, 2019: We are almost at our goal thanks to all of our amazing friends, family, and supporters! All of us at CORE Borneo and the Tuanan Orangutan Research Team cannot begin to express how grateful we are. In addition to incredible support from individual donors, and are grateful to the following organizations:
- Orangutan Outreach (https://redapes.org/) – thank you for your continued support for fighting the 2015 and 2019 fires!
- Orangutan Conservancy (https://www.orangutan.com/) – thank you for your rapid response!
- Orangutan SSP (https://www.orangutanssp.org/) – thank you for your rapid response!
- The Leakey Foundation (https://leakeyfoundation.org/) – your continual research and emergency support is so generous! Thank you for believing in our team
- Save The Orangutans (https://savetheorangutan.org/): Thank you for your donation of a much needed satellite phone and drone to monitor the fires!
Our team has been in touch daily and they continue to fight the fires each day. All researchers, field assistants, and our fire team are working together with BOSF Mawas and their RPK fire team to put out two main sets of fires – one near the research area and one near the village of Pasir Putih. The team is doing great – and because of their hard work 12-14 hours/day, the main fire near the station is almost out. The fire near the village is bigger but they are getting it under control. We think we should have both fires under control within the next few days if conditions remain the same.
We face a lot of challenges over the next few months. Out team will have to continue monitoring the forest with the drone and on the ground to make sure the fires do not start up again. The peat is still smoldering but if we keep it wet we should be able to get it out completely. We will keep you all posted! And thank you again for your support!
UPDATE: Sept. 5, 2019: Today I received an update from the Tuanan Orangutan Research Project team who are all busy fighting these fires. I have uploaded some pictures below. The fires are still burning and new fires have been detected along the south of the study area but the team is making great progress and putting out the major flames. There is a lot of smoldering peat but they feel positive that they can get this fire under control. We have some local community members who are fighting the fires with our team and they are all amazing! My managers keep sending me messages about how amazing this team is. We are so grateful for the incredible response from our friends, families, foundations, and the orangutan NGO network. We are still in need of funds so you can select the Donate Now button to donate through PayPal to our NGO (see budget below).
Since 2015, We have installed over 80 hydrants in and surrounding the study area. We have also been able to continuously employ the fire team we hired and trained in 2015. While we are in much better shape this year in terms of personnel, equipment, and, most importantly, experience, we still need to support additional staff, possibly the Indonesian army, more pumps, hoses, and other equipment to last out this fire season. We need to add an additional 5 hydrants to the south in this area because there is no water left in the canals. Because we are so remote, transporting people and these extra fire logistics is costly.
Please know that any kind of support that you could provide would go directly to fighting these fires and not to salaries or overhead costs. All of the CORE Borneo staff, the small NGO we constitute, and with the exception of our local fire team and assistants, volunteer their time.
Thank you!!!! We will continue to update you with posts to this page!







Sept. 2, 2019: Last night we received word from the Tuanan research and fire teams that fires are popping up just south of the Tuanan Orangutan Research Project station (TORP) study grid. These fires are currently about 150 meters south of the study area in the area frequently used by orangutans. Since 2015’s devastating fires — when we lost over 120 hectares of forest and orangutan habitat — we’ve fortunately avoided major incident until now. Working with the Bornean Orangutan Survival Foundation, we were in the final stages of planning the reforestation of that area burned in 2015 when the fires started again this year. Our team is working hard to extinguish the fires in the south and prevent new fires. Given that it is still early in the fire season (September through November) and the forest is already so dry, the next few months will be long and very difficult. Many of canals that previously supplied essential fire-fighting water, are now dry, forcing us to pump up water from more than 20 meters under the peat.
We are asking for your generosity to help us protect one of the largest populations of wild orangutans left on this planet. Tuanan has the highest orangutan density in all of Central Kalimantan and the 309,000 hectare Mawas Conservation Area (where Tuanan is located) has over 2,800 orangutans, among other incredible and endangered wildlife. We have collected over 16 years of continuous long-term data on over 150 identified orangutans, following their lives, social interactions, and growth. We are finally getting to the point where we have multiple births for the same adult females, who reproduce only every 6-9 years. We could not collect these data without your generosity and our goal is to continue to protect this amazing populations of orangutans and the forest they inhabit. We will continue to update you on the fire situation and our fund raising goals for this 2019 fire season. Your donations go directly to fighting these fires, as we are a very small NGO – all funds go directly to our conservation activities and not to paying salaries and overhead costs. All of the CORE Borneo staff, with the exception of our local fire team, volunteer their time to our NGO. We are grateful for your donations and know we can fight these fires together! Thank you!
Luckily, since 2015 with your generous donations, the TORP team has installed over 90 hydrants in and surrounding the study area. We have also been able to continuously employ the fire team we hired and trained in 2015. We are in much better shape this year in terms of personnel, equipment, and, most importantly, experience. However, we still need to support additional staff, possibly the Indonesian army, more pumps, hoses, and other equipment to last out this fire season. We need to add an additional 5 hydrants to the south in this area because there is no water left in the canals. Because we are so remote, transporting people and these extra fire logistics is costly.








2019 Tuanan Fires
Budget Sept 2019-November 2019 (3 months)
| Category | Description | Total Cost |
| Transportation | Cars and boats to bring extra fire fighters, firefighting equipment, and food | $14,480 |
| Salary | Salary for extra staff including local firefighting staff, cooks, and outside firefighters | $15,907.50 |
| Logistics | Food for extra staff and outside firefighters | $20,825 |
| Equipment | Water pumps, satellite phone, drone, hoses, hose attachments, extra radios, extra rubber boots, lunch boxes, water bottles, first aid supplies, fuel for water pumps and generator. | $5,554 |
| TOTAL | $55,166.50 |
Your Donations Go a Long Way – Everything Helps!
- $10 covers the cost of a pair of rubber boots for the fire team
- $12 provides food for a fire team member for one day
- $18 provides salary for a fire team member for one day
- $30 covers the cost of a round trip boat trip to transport supplies and provisions
- $40 covers the cost of a new fire hose
- $50 covers the cost of a new radio for communication between team member
- $80 covers car transportation from the city to the boat pick up point to bring supplies to Tuanan
- $100 covers the cost of a new water pump to extract water from below the ground surface
- $250 covers the cost of a speed boat to rapidly bring supplies to our team from Mantangai
- $800 covers the cost of a new drone to detect distant fires












