 Borneo was once known as the lungs of the world, promoting rainfall and protecting diversity. Now, towards the south of the island in Indonesia's central Kalimantan province, the peat areas are burning and emitting a toxic smoke, causing untold damage to the environment, wildlife, and human health. It's estimated that over 200,000 hectares of peatland have been lost each year between 1990 and 2010. This year, with the massive fires, it could be much worse. This area used to be forest back in 97. This area burned because of extreme drought from the previous El Niño. And this area has been burning ever since almost every year. Peatlands in their natural state are extremely, are covered in less tropical forest and they're watered, they're bogged. They're essentially waterlogged all year round. But when you drain them, when you remove the forest, the peat itself, the soil, become exposed to sunlight and it dries out because of the drainage. And that's what burns. Indonesia now has millions and millions of hectares of degraded peatlands. Gavau says that these dry peatlands are now full of ferns and shrubs with lots of wood debris that act as a tinder box and with just a few weeks or months of dry weather can ignite. Everybody talks about forest fires these days but essentially what is burning is this, an area which is already degraded. Areas that have caught fire before tend to burn more easily and areas that have drainage canals burn frequently. Gavau says that the only way to stop this cycle is to re-wet these dry peatlands and restore the natural vegetation. Only then will peatland fires end. Gavau is in central Kali-Mantan with a group of fellow scientists to train local experts on how to assess the impact of the fires. For participants, this is very personal. They have been living in the toxic haze. Many children are affected by the drought. So it is very difficult to recover from the drought. Then from the economic side, it is clear that it is a matter of farming. So they cannot produce a large amount of food, and then transportation is delayed. So it increases the risk of the drought. These local experts say they help all stakeholders to use scientific data to make informed decisions for the future of central Kali-Mantan. Data using the latest technology, such as the infrared spectral analyzer, which was used to measure smoke content at the source of a 5,000 hectare burning site about 30 kilometers from the city. Preliminary results identified high concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and carbon monoxide, three major greenhouse gases. More worrying, ammonia and acids were also detected. In addition, the toxic haze is carrying minute particles that can enter the lungs. They too were measured. Normally, I think a relatively safe limit is something like 50 micrograms per meter cubed. And the meteorological department here are reporting values of 1,000 or even 2,000 milligrams, micrograms per meter cubed, which is absolutely extreme. And not only can find a single day either, but going on for weeks or even possibly months. So this is clearly an absolutely apocalyptic scene. Landsat thermal imaging can pinpoint where the fires are coming from. Images acquired the same day the scientists were there, revealed a 20 kilometer flaming front line that is moving towards the Kalambangan Forest, home to some of the last remaining orangutans. Using Landsat imaging from before and during the fires, Gavau and his assistant estimated that since September, over 600,000 hectares of land have already burned near Palankaraya. For the future, a long-term strategy with clear scientific data is needed to restore the peatlands back to their pristine state and prevent further devastation to one of the oldest and most diverse forests in the world.