Information suppression puts lives at risk.
Help us keep climate and disaster data open, accessible, and in public hands.
As Indonesia faces one of its worst forest fire seasons, social media platforms are suppressing posts about ongoing disasters, while official datasets and environmental information are becoming increasingly difficult to access. When communities cannot see what's happening, they cannot respond, prepare, or protect one another.
Across Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Papua, fires are burning through forests and peatlands, sending toxic haze across communities and national borders. Millions of people are facing the health consequences of prolonged smoke exposure, while schools, livelihoods and daily life are disrupted. Wildlife, too, is losing vital habitat, as fires threaten the animals that depend on these forests to survive.
Satellite observations, cannot always tell us what is happening at every location, in real time. And when information is delayed, incomplete or difficult to find, the consequences are felt by people trying to decide whether it is safe to stay in their homes, how to protect their children from the haze, or whether a fire is getting closer.
A woman in Kalimantan recently told us that she learned a fire was affecting a neighbouring village through PetaBencana.id, a free, public platform for real-time disaster information. She had not seen the incident covered in the news. But because someone else had reported what they were seeing, she was able to see this information on the map and understand its proximity to her community. She was able to seal her house, move her children and obtain protective masks before conditions worsened.
This neighborhood observation did not go viral. It did not make the headlines. But it gave someone the information she needed to keep her family safe.
People living through a disaster are often the first to observe changing conditions. They see smoke rising, notice haze thickening and witness fires spreading. But this knowledge can remain invisible beyond their immediate communities unless there is a way to share it.
In a crisis that crosses villages, islands and national borders, our ability to protect one another depends in part on our ability to share what we know.
Everyone deserves access to the information they need to stay safe.
Yayasan Peta Bencana [Disaster Map Foundation] runs and maintains PetaBencana.id.
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