Indonesia Seeks Accountability for Agricultural Fires Driving Regional Pollution

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has issued a stern warning, threatening to revoke business permits for companies implicated in the agricultural fires plaguing several parts of the archipelago. These fires, frequently employed to prepare land for plantations such as palm oil, are exporting severe air pollution to neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.

"If there is a corporation behind this, I want the Police and the Prosecutor's Office to investigate, I want the intelligence agencies to investigate. If there is any indication, report it immediately and we will revoke the permits without delay," the former military general stated in Riau province, one of the affected areas. Prabowo emphasized that permits would be revoked upon the "slightest indication" that companies ordered the land burning, a common practice for crops like palm oil, a commodity for which Indonesia and Malaysia are global leaders.

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If there is a corporation behind this, I want the Police and the Prosecutor's Office to investigate, I want the intelligence agencies to investigate. If there is any indication, report it immediately and we will revoke the permits without delay.

Data from the Indonesian National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) indicated that as of Monday, 28 hotspots persisted in West Kalimantan province alone, located on Borneo island, which Indonesia shares with Malaysia and Brunei. The Malaysian city of Kuching, also on Borneo, registered the world's highest concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at 181µg/m³, far exceeding the World Health Organization's recommended maximum of 15 µg/m³.

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If there is the slightest indication that they ordered the burning

The BNPB estimates that nearly 200 hectares have burned this month across seven Indonesian provinces on Borneo, impacting 28 million people and leading to a "significant increase in cases of acute respiratory infections," according to the Ministry of Health. The ministry also noted that approximately three million Indonesians have been "directly exposed to the resulting haze." In response, law enforcement has identified 72 suspects for allegedly starting or promoting fires in Borneo, according to Mohamad Irhamni, director of Specific Crimes at the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim).

Over the past three weeks, Indonesia has deployed more than a million liters of water onto burning areas, including peatlands. Peatlands, vital carbon sinks, release significant greenhouse gas emissions when burned, and their drainage increases fire frequency, allowing embers to persist for months, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Last year, Indonesia recorded 546 fires.

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The devastation in Hautes Fagnes is a clear reminder that the risk of forest fires is changing across Europe. Our firefighters and emergency services are on the front lines, working tirelessly to protect communities.