Merauke, Jubi – Forest and land fires across parts of Indonesia are not simply a fire-related problem but a reflection of poor forest governance, according to the #ResetKehutanan coalition.

The coalition is calling on the Indonesian government and parliament to carry out a comprehensive revision of Law No. 41 of 1999 on Forestry.

The coalition, made up of more than 30 civil society organisations, says recurring forest and land fires point to weak monitoring and law enforcement, as well as inadequate protection of natural forests and peatland ecosystems.

The Ministry of Forestry recorded 202,004 hectares affected by forest and land fires as of July 2026. Meanwhile, an analysis by Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI), using MODIS Terra/Aqua satellite imagery through August 2026, identified 8,918 hotspots across Indonesia.

Of those, 5,119 hotspots, or about 57 per cent, were in Kalimantan, followed by Sumatra with 1,683 hotspots, or 18.9 per cent.

Of the total hotspots, 4,953 were detected within areas covered by extractive industry concessions. Some 4,508 were located in state forest areas, 1,128 in natural forests and 1,222 in customary territories.

FWI forest researcher and campaigner Tsabit Khairul Auni said the large number of hotspots in state forest areas and licensed concession areas showed the need to evaluate how effectively the government was managing and monitoring forest areas.

"The state has not only failed to protect the forest areas it claims to control, but is also weak in monitoring permit holders," Mr Tsabit said in a statement received by Jubi in Merauke on Friday (August 28, 2026).

He said the situation raised questions about the legitimacy of the state's role as a manager of forest areas.

Forest and land fires are not a new problem in Indonesia. The phenomenon has recurred since the New Order era, including when forests in Central Kalimantan were cleared as part of the one-million-hectare peatland development project.

Forest and land fires subsequently became a major problem again in 2015, 2019, 2023 and 2026.

The impacts are not limited to people. Garda Animalia campaigner and advocate Rio AA said the fires were also threatening wildlife habitats, including those of the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), which is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

During the latest fires in Kalimantan, three Bornean orangutans had to be evacuated after they were found entering residents' plantations. Other animals, including snakes and pangolins, were also found dead after being burned.

Garda Animalia recorded major fires in Ketapang in 2015 and 2019 that also led to large-scale orangutan rescues. Following the 2015 fires, about 60 Bornean orangutans were reportedly rescued.

A mother and young orangutan were also found in an oil palm plantation in Sungai Pelang village, Ketapang, after fires spread into forest areas in September 2023.

Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL) executive director Lasma Natalia H. Panjaitan said efforts to address forest and land fires should not stop at extinguishing the flames.

She said prevention should begin during the licensing process. The government needed to ensure permits were consistent with spatial planning and the designated function of an area, and were not issued in areas with high ecological vulnerability, including peatland ecosystems.

Once permits were issued, monitoring should be carried out to ensure permit holders complied with their obligations.

Where violations were found, the government needed to impose sanctions consistently, including requiring environmental restoration and taking steps to prevent the incidents from recurring.

Ms Lasma also said corporations should be a primary focus of accountability when fires occurred within their areas of operation.

She explained that under the principle of strict liability, responsibility for activities classified as abnormally dangerous activities does not, in principle, require proof of fault.

Meanwhile, Satya Bumi senior campaigner Sadam Afian Richwanudin said recurring forest and land fires demonstrated the state's failure to guarantee people's constitutional right to a good and healthy environment.

He said several issues identified by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) following major fires in 2015 remained relevant, including the neglect of the right to health, an approach focused primarily on firefighting, alleged discriminatory law enforcement, and limited funding and facilities for local governments.

"This means we need to demand that the government once again demonstrate its commitment to addressing forest and land fires, after researchers and research institutions had warned about the problem since the beginning of the year," Mr Sadam said.

Poor governance was also reflected in the condition of peatlands after fires. Pantau Gambut campaigner Putra Saptian said a study by the organisation found that 97 per cent of peatlands burned between 2015 and 2019 did not return to forest.

Only three per cent of the land returned to forest, while 41 per cent became scrubland and 54 per cent was converted to monoculture plantations, mainly oil palm.

Mr Putra said similar patterns had been found in concession areas. Pantau Gambut said burned scrubland could potentially be prepared for future plantation expansion.

Poor forest governance was also linked to corruption. Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) recorded 56 corruption cases in the forestry sector that were prosecuted by law enforcement agencies between 2010 and 2025.

The cases resulted in estimated state losses of about 4.8 trillion rupiah, while the value of bribes reached 10.2 billion rupiah.

The alleged methods included abuse of authority in 13 cases, fictitious activities or projects and embezzlement in nine cases each, budget misuse in seven cases, bribery in six cases, illegal permit issuance in five cases and influence peddling in one case.

ICW also recorded 108 people who had faced legal proceedings in connection with the forestry corruption cases. Those involved included private-sector actors, civil servants, forestry officials, regional heads, village officials and land administration officials.

ICW researcher Nisa Rizkiah Zonzoa said recurring forest and land fires pointed to governance problems, with areas that should have been protected instead being exploited through problematic permits, weak oversight and corrupt practices.

Kaoem Telapak campaign head Denny Bhatara said repeated fires in the same business areas should be viewed as an indicator of failures in compliance and law enforcement.

He said corporations that repeatedly violated regulations should face more serious consequences than those committing a violation for the first time.

The #ResetKehutanan coalition said this year's forest and land fires came as parliament was considering revisions to Law No. 41 of 1999 on Forestry, which is included in the priority list of the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas).

However, the coalition criticised the revision process as partial and closed, saying it had not meaningfully involved the public.

The coalition called for the revised Forestry Law to use the history of violations by permit holders as a basis for monitoring and evaluating permits.

This record should include previous forest and land fires, violations, administrative sanctions, legal proceedings and outstanding restoration obligations.

It also called for law enforcement to go beyond fines or restoration orders. For repeated violations, the government should have clear powers to increase sanctions, including suspending activities, revoking permits, requiring environmental restoration and pursuing criminal proceedings against corporations and their management, depending on the severity of the violations.

The coalition proposed three main priorities: strengthening responses to forest and land fires and protecting affected communities; investigating perpetrators, acting against corporations and restoring the environment; and comprehensively and transparently revising the Forestry Law.

The revision should cover licensing transparency, prevention of corruption and conflicts of interest, independent oversight, protection of natural forests and peatlands, mechanisms for revoking permits, and law enforcement against government officials and corporations.

The coalition also called for the revision process to be conducted openly, with meaningful participation from civil society and communities directly affected by forest degradation and forest and land fires.

Source: https://en.jubi.id/civil-society-coalition-calls-for-complete-overhaul-of-indonesias-forestry-law