WALHI: Don't Just Extinguish Fires, Fix the Root Causes of Forest and Land Fires
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) has stated that the government’s efforts to strengthen patrols, modify weather, and enforce laws are insufficient to stop the cycle of forest and land fires (karhutla). The organisation argues that the government must address the root causes, namely weak law enforcement against companies and poor peatland management.
WALHI’s Forest and Plantation Campaign Manager, Uli Artha Siagian, said the surge in fire hotspots in early 2026 is proof that current handling approaches have not touched the source of the problem. “We also found several hotspots in company concession areas. When we checked again, the fires or hotspots occurring in company concessions were actually recurring in the same companies,” Uli said on Tuesday (14/7).
According to her, the recurrence of fires in the same locations demonstrates that law enforcement against perpetrators has not been effective. “This shows that there has never been serious law enforcement by state officials, because the same companies’ concessions keep burning. No firm sanctions have been given by the state,” she said.
Uli added that the threat of forest and land fires this year was already visible even before the El Niño phenomenon fully developed. WALHI has been warning the government since March about the potential for a Super El Niño, which is expected to cause a longer dry season and increase the risk of fires.
Beyond law enforcement, she assessed that the protection of peatland ecosystems remains weak. Canalisation practices that cause peatlands to dry out have not been seriously addressed, leaving these areas vulnerable to burning every dry season.
WALHI noted that around 980 concession permits are located in forest and peatland areas and have never been thoroughly evaluated. The organisation urged the government to immediately evaluate these permits so that sanctions can be imposed on companies failing to meet environmental protection obligations. “If this is not done, forest and land fires will continue to occur every year,” Uli warned.