Prabowo Seeks to Classify Forest Fire Perpetrators as 'Ecological Terrorists'

President Prabowo Subianto is pushing for stronger legal sanctions against those responsible for forest and land fires, including the potential classification of such actions as ecological terrorism. Prabowo considers the issue of forest and land fires (karhutla) to be a serious problem that requires more decisive legal measures alongside the strengthening of regulations.

These directives were delivered by President Prabowo while presiding over a hybrid limited meeting regarding the handling of several disasters across the country from the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday (16/09/2026). During the meeting, Prabowo received reports on fire management and mitigation steps to face conditions predicted to remain high-risk for the next 1.5 months.

Prabowo requested that the Minister of State Secretary, Prasetyo Hadi, together with the Minister of Law, Supratman Andi Agtas, delve into the provisions for sanctions against perpetrators of forest and land burning. The strengthening of rules, according to Prabowo, could be achieved through amendments to legislation involving the House of Representatives (DPR).

“I am saying that the Minister of State Secretary and the Minister of Law should examine this so that the legal sanctions, perhaps the laws, can be requested from the DPR to be intensified, so that we classify this as ecological terrorism. This is very serious,” the President stated.

The gravity of the situation is driven by the impact of forest fires, which are not only felt domestically but can also disturb neighbouring countries. Prabowo emphasised that the government has worked to its maximum capacity in mitigation and does not want the impact of Indonesia’s forest fires to burden other nations.

“We have worked to the maximum to mitigate these issues,” he said.

Furthermore, Prabowo requested that regional regulations (perda) that still allow for land burning be revoked immediately. He also opened the possibility of tightening provisions within national legislation.

“The regional regulations must be revoked immediately. The Minister of Home Affairs must ensure this, and if necessary, I will say we must strengthen the national laws,” he said.

Prabowo also asserted that land clearing through burning must no longer be practised for any reason. He emphasised that if the community requires land clearing, the government is prepared to provide assistance so that burning practices are no longer an option.

“I have said there should be no excuses regarding local wisdom and so on; I believe those are just excuses. I have said that if the people need help, we will assist in clearing the land. But this truly must not continue. There must be no more forest fires for land clearing or any other reason,” he stated.

Through the strengthening of regulations, law enforcement, and assistance to the community, Prabowo reaffirmed the government’s commitment to uprooting the practice of forest and land burning.

The limited meeting was led by President Prabowo from the Merdeka Palace, accompanied by the Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya. Meanwhile, several other government officials attended the meeting via video conference.