Forest fires, accompanied by choking haze, are a yearly hazard during the hot, dry season, when both farmers and companies clear and burn land for cultivation. This picture was taken in 2015, when community fire-fighting teams, community members and conservation organisations joined forces to tackle the forest fires that were burning in the interior Sebangau forest in Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. Fire-fighters worked 24/7 for months, extinguishing fires from the ground, carrying heavy equipment and consumables deep into the forest, exposing their lives to protect their livelihoods, their precious forest, and the species inhabiting Sebangau. Their work involved a combination of long-running place-based knowledge and familiarity with the local environment and social networks, as well as constant improvisation and adaptation in the face of a deadly, powerful threat.
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Expertise and Labour
