REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KETAPANG -- IAR Foundation Chairman Tantyo Bangun said wildfire ia a tragedy which clearly threatens humans. In addition, the habitat of orangutans and other wildlife inside the forest is also threatened.

He urges government to take immediate strict efforts to end land and forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Tantyo said orangutans could extinct if land and forest fires continue to happen.

He stressed, this incident not only harms humans, but also contributes to the detriment of nature and destroys biodiversity, including orangutans. “It’s time for us to solve the problem. If we don’t, orangutans will soon become extinct,” said Tantyo on Monday.

Since last week, IAR Foundation has rescued three orangutans. There were two among orangutans that rescued in the forest Ketapang, West Kalimantan. Meanwhile, one another was in a resident’s agricultural land in the same province.

Tantyo said orangutans were to search for food into residents' farms because their habitat in the forest is getting narrower due to fire. He explained, IAR foundation together with Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) will conduct a massive rescue against orangutans.

According to him, in 2015, there was land and forest fire in Indonesia. At that time, IAR Foundation was also evacuated more than 40 individual orangutans from the forest.

The habitat of orangutans is also threatened by conflict and poaching by human. They were forced to get close to agricultural land and residential areas. Tantyo said once again, people must act to end land and forest fire.

Earlier, orangutans reported fled their habitat and trepasses on residential areas in Easr Kotawaringin District in Central Kalimantan Province. During the past weeks, wildfires has raged in the region and some nearby provinces, including East Kalimantan and West Kalimantan. In Sumatra, wildfires occurred in a number of provinces, among those are South Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau.

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