Jakarta — Environmental group Jikalahari has urged the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) to investigate more companies suspected of involvement in forest and land fires, questioning why only one of the 20 corporations recently named as suspects operates in Riau.
The police named 20 corporations as suspects in connection with forest and land fires across five provinces: West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, South Sumatra and Riau. The cases involve 104 police reports and a combined burned area of 29,168.78 hectares, according to National Police Criminal Investigation Department chief Commissioner General Asep Safrudin at a press conference in West Kalimantan on October 29.
“Of the 20 corporations, only one is from Riau. Is Bareskrim being selective in determining which companies become suspects?” said Arpiyan Sargita, Jikalahari’s deputy coordinator in a statement on Monday, November 2.
The group said fires in Riau had caused significant public health impacts, with 35,910 reported cases of acute respiratory infections (ARI) as of October. Air pollution levels in the province reached unhealthy levels in August, deteriorated to very unhealthy levels in September and remained hazardous for several weeks in October, Arpiyan said.
Jikalahari’s analysis of Suomi NPP-VIIRS satellite hotspot data recorded 6,483 hotspots across Riau between January and October 2026. Of these, 4,417, or 68 per cent, were detected in peatland areas, while 1,205 were located within company concessions, including 231 in industrial timber plantation concessions and 974 in oil palm plantations.
Field monitoring conducted between August 15 and 24 also identified 572 hectares of burned land across five concessions operated by PT Arara Abadi, PT Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper, PT Teguh Karsa Wana Lestari, PT Tani Subur Makmur and PT Sari Lembah Subur.
Jikalahari submitted its findings to Bareskrim’s director of special crimes on August 27, supported by hotspot analysis, satellite imagery and field verification.
The group urged police to follow up on the report and investigate the five companies, warning that enforcement should not stop with the 20 corporations already named as suspects.
Jikalahari called on Bareskrim to conduct transparent and timely investigations, expand its inquiries to other companies suspected of involvement in fires across several Indonesian provinces and regularly disclose the progress of its investigations to the public. (nsh)
Banner photo: A team extinguishes a fire in Mojong Village, Watan Sidenreng Sub-district, Sidenreng Rappang District, South Sulawesi Province, on 1 November 2026. Source: Sidenreng Rappang District Disaster Management Agency (BPBD).
