2026 Forest Fires Expand, Government Urged to Evaluate Concession Permits

Forest and land fires (karhutla) in Indonesia between January and July 2026 have reached 202,004.30 hectares, marking a 69 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. The fires are no longer concentrated in Sumatra and Kalimantan but have expanded to Java, Bali-Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, Maluku, and even Papua.

Data from the Ministry of Forestry’s SiPongi Fire Monitoring System shows this increase occurred before the peak dry season in August and September. The ‘Indonesia Without Pollution’ Coalition noted that the El Niño phenomenon and prolonged drought further exacerbated the fires in the following two months.

The Coalition argues that climate factors cannot be the sole explanation for the expanding fires. Land-use patterns, licensing, and the vulnerability of peatland ecosystems due to degradation are also believed to play a role in increasing fire risks.

Syafiq Gumilang, Research Manager at Pantau Gambut, stated that the distribution of hotspots in peatland areas indicates a high risk to these ecosystems. By mid-September 2026, there were 139,978 hotspots spread across Peatland Hydrological Units (KHG).

“The figures we have found are very alarming. As of mid-September 2026, 139,978 hotspots were recorded across Peatland Hydrological Units,” Syafiq said in a Coalition statement on Thursday (1/10/2026).

Syafiq noted that fires in Peatland Hydrological Units accounted for 73.6 per cent of total hotspots throughout August 20lag, equivalent to 40 per cent of this year’s total hotspots. Of this distribution, approximately 30 per cent, or about 40,000 hotspots, are located within Land Cultivation Rights (HGU) and Forest Area Utilisation Business Licences (PBPH).

“This indicates a close link between forest fires and weak supervision and law enforcement within concession areas,” said Syafiq.

The impact of the fires has also extended to public health. The Ministry of Health recorded 113,336 cases of Acute Respiratory Infection (ISPA) across 63 affected regencies and cities, with 26,545 of those cases occurring in toddlers.

Greenpeace Indonesia Campaigner Belgis Habiba stated that monitoring from August to 20 September 2026 revealed thousands of smoke source points in Kalimantan and Sumatra. Most points found in Kalimantan were within peatland landscapes.

“This year’s forest fires are a deadly engine for air pollution. From August to 20 September 2026, we identified 3,213 smoke source points in Kalimantan—mostly in peatland landscapes—and 894 in Sumatra,” said Belgis.

According to Greenpeace Indonesia’s monitoring, smoke from the fires has moved beyond the source regions. The smoke movement has reportedly reached Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

“Millions of people are now forced to breathe toxic air, and the government can no longer view this merely as an upstream issue,” she said.

The expansion of fires into eastern Indonesia is another major concern for the Coalition. Director of WALHI South Sulawesi, Muh Amin, stated that sporadic forest fires are now being found in several provinces in Sulawesi, while prevention and early warning systems are deemed inadequate.

“The 2026 forest fires prove that this crisis has expanded into Sulawesi. We are seeing sporadic incidents in various provinces in Sulawesi that have not been maximally addressed. This shows the unreadiness of prevention and early warning systems in regions previously not considered red zones for forest fires,” said Amin.

According to Amin, the expansion of the fire-affected areas increases the risk to community living spaces, plantations, and water sources. This situation means that fire management can no longer focus solely on Sumatra and Kalimantan.

A similar threat has emerged in Indonesia’s eastern archipelago. Risdian Kayang from WALHI North Maluku stated that fires in these areas have the potential to pressure biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities dependent on forests.

“The expansion of forest fires to Maluku and other eastern archipelago regions is an alarm of danger. The forests in our region have very specific environmental carrying capacities, and when they burn, it directly threatens the local food sources of the community,” said Rispendian.

Risdian noted that land clearing without clear standards and overlapping concession permits also increase the risk of forest fires in eastern Indonesia. He added that the impact threatens not only biodiversity but also the living spaces of indigenous communities.

“If left unchecked, not only will biodiversity be lost, but also the culture and living spaces of local indigenous peoples,” he said.

The Indonesia Without Pollution Coalition is urging the government to change its approach to forest fires, which is currently deemed too focused on firefighting after the fires have already occurred. The Coalition is pushing for strengthened prevention through transparency in concession permit data, protection of peatland ecosystems, improved supervision and law enforcement in concession areas, and the protection of public health in smoke-affected regions.

The Coalition also requested an evaluation of permit governance as fire points expand to various regions. Such steps are deemed necessary to suppress the risk of recurring fires and to strengthen prevention in areas previously not classified as primary fire zones.