Forest and Land Fires: IPB Professor Urges Courts to Find Who Lit the Flames

Forest and land fires (karhutla) are still occurring in several regions of Sumatra and Kalimantan. Amid these conditions, the application of the strict liability principle in forest and land fire cases has come under scrutiny.

Professor of Forestry and Environment at IPB University, Yanto Santoso, explained that it is important to distinguish between the origin of the fire and the obligation to manage forest areas. The question of who lit the fire is a different matter from the question of whether the concession holder has fulfilled its obligations to prevent, detect, control and extinguish fires.

To determine who is responsible, Yanto said, the court must still examine evidence regarding the origin of the fire, the condition of the area, the actions of the manager, and the relationship between the activities or management and the losses incurred. “Judicial practice shows that the application of strict liability in forest and land fire cases is highly dependent on the quality of evidence,” he said in a press statement in Jakarta on Monday (31/8/2026).

In addition, Yanto urged the need for a moratorium on land clearing by burning in high-risk areas amid dry conditions and the influence of El Niño. “This does not mean eliminating local wisdom, but rather adjusting such practices to environmental conditions and the level of fire danger,” said Yanto.

For him, strict liability is a liability regime that reduces the need to prove elements of fault, such as intent or negligence. However, the principle does not mean that every concession holder is automatically responsible for every fire that enters or occurs within its area.

“Strict liability must not be equated with strict guilt. It does not mean that once a fire occurs within a concession, the concession holder is automatically deemed to be the party that lit the fire,” said Yanto.