Large areas of rainforest in Central Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, have been converted to oil palm plantations, sometimes cleared with fire, a practice that is illegal but still common. Along the rivers, small-scale gold mining, much of it unlicensed, has left the banks scarred with pale stretches of bare sand. Miners loosen the soil with high-pressure hoses and separate the gold with mercury, which can wash into rivers and build up in the fish that local communities depend on. Both industries are important sources of income in the region, but they have reshaped its landscape. Last week, we shared an Overview of the fires burning across Kalimantan. It has become the epicenter of Indonesia’s worst fire season in years. Much of the province sits on peat, which is drained for plantations. Combined with a long dry season, the dried peat becomes highly flammable and can smolder underground for weeks.

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