Legislator urges government to take extraordinary action on Kalimantan forest fires
Deputy Chairman of Commission IV of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Alex Indra Lukman, has urged the government to act in an extraordinary manner to tackle forest and land fires in Kalimantan, the impact of which has spread to various sectors including health, education, transport and economic activity.
“The widening impact is inseparable from the dry weather phenomenon caused by El Nino, which peaks in August-September 2026,” said Alex Indra Lukman in Jakarta on Thursday.
He noted that in 1997-1998, Indonesia was also hit by an El Nino phenomenon which subsequently caused a major crisis by triggering fires across more than nine million hectares of Kalimantan land.
“That event became the largest environmental disaster in Southeast Asia in the 20th century. This must not be repeated now,” he said.
He said the call was in response to the Kalimantan forest fires which have directly affected the air quality index in Palangka Raya, reaching 487 on 19 August 2026, a level categorised as hazardous.
In addition, the thick smoke haze from the Kalimantan fires has forced the Education Office to delay school start times for primary and junior secondary schools until 8.00 am local time, while early childhood education has been shifted to distance learning.
“Meanwhile, visibility in several areas has dropped drastically to 1.4 kilometres,” he said.
According to data compiled by the National Disaster Management Agency as of 19 August 2026, there were a total of 1,487 hotspots across Kalimantan.
He detailed 767 hotspots in Central Kalimantan, 441 in West Kalimantan, 315 in Central Kalimantan, 34 in South Kalimantan and 17 in North Kalimantan.
The spread of fire hotspots has occurred in almost every province, with Central Kalimantan as the epicentre of the fires with the highest concentration.
“Handling the Kalimantan forest fires must immediately become a national priority,” he said.
He said the situation must become a national priority because the fires have forced a number of regional governments to extend their emergency response status, such as in West Kotawaringin Regency, which has been extended until 4 September 2026.
Furthermore, he said the fires have scorched 859.49 hectares of land across 189 incidents with 461 hotspots in West Kotawaringin Regency, Central Kalimantan Province, with Arut Selatan and Kumai sub-districts being the worst affected areas.
In Arut Selatan, there were 98 fire incidents affecting 180.475 hectares of land with 226 hotspots. In Kumai, 63 incidents burned 584.41 hectares of land.
He said data from MapBiomas Fire shows that during the peak fire periods of 2014, 2015 and 2019, around 61 per cent of forest and land fires occurred between September and November, peaking in October.
“This historical record is a warning to the government that the methods used so far need to be completely evaluated so that the impact does not recur,” he said.
He said the evaluation of Kalimantan forest fire policy must include strengthening early detection and patrols in vulnerable areas.
Satellite-based early warning systems also need to have their accuracy continuously improved. The role of the community in preventing forest fires is also crucial.
The Fire Care Village programme and community empowerment through training on alternative land clearing without burning need to be expanded.
“I emphasise that mitigating Kalimantan forest fires requires a long-term approach focused on prevention, improving socio-economic welfare and sustainable land governance,” he said.