Jakarta — Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry has revoked the business permits of five companies in Kalimantan over violations linked to forest and land fires, as the government stepped up firefighting operations amid a rise in high-confidence hotspots nationally.
Forestry Minister Raja Antoni on Monday, September 21, said the move was part of the government’s enforcement efforts following President Prabowo Subianto’s instruction that the law be applied to companies as well as individuals.
“This is part of the President’s order, law enforcement without discrimination, not only against the small, not only sharp downward but also sharp upward,” Raja said in Central Kalimantan.
The five companies have combined concessions of about 92,464 hectares, while areas identified as burned within their concessions totalled 1,169.13 hectares, according to ministry data.
The companies are PT Wana Lestari Jaya in West Kalimantan, with a concession of about 29,140 hectares and 47.84 hectares burned; PT Prima Multi Buana in South Kalimantan, with 11,882 hectares and 18.20 hectares burned; PT Pancaran Wana Nusa in Central Kalimantan, with 3,812 hectares and 497 hectares burned; PT Grace Putri Perdana, spanning Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, with 28,990 hectares and 374.99 hectares burned; and PT Babugus Wahana Lestari in Central Kalimantan, with 18,640 hectares and 231.10 hectares burned.
Raja said companies holding forest utilisation business licences, or PBPH, have obligations to protect their concession areas and comply with conditions attached to their licences.
“But once again, because they ignored and did not care about that, today I revoked the five [permits],” he said.
He added that the government hoped the action would deter other companies from either causing fires or failing to prevent and respond to fires in their concession areas.
The permit revocations came as Indonesia recorded an increase in high-confidence fire hotspots, although conditions varied significantly among the country’s main fire-prone provinces.
Data from the Forestry Ministry’s SiPongi system, based on NASA Terra/Aqua, SNPP and NOAA-20 satellites, detected 1,532 high-confidence hotspots nationwide through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, September 20, up from 1,323 the previous day.
Central Kalimantan recorded the largest number among six priority provinces, with 968 hotspots, although this was down from 1,035 a day earlier. South Sumatra, meanwhile, saw hotspots rise sharply to 285 from 112.
West Kalimantan recorded 98 hotspots, down from 107; South Kalimantan 39, down from 55; Jambi 26, up from 14; and Riau one, compared with none the previous day.
The ministry cautioned that satellite-detected hotspots indicate surface-temperature anomalies and cannot be directly equated with individual fires or the total area burned. Ground verification is required to determine actual conditions.
64 aircraft deployed
The government has deployed 64 aircraft and helicopters and 54,394 personnel since August to respond to fires across affected areas, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said on Sunday.
The aircraft include water-bombing and patrol helicopters as well as planes supporting weather modification operations. Operations are adjusted according to fire conditions, cloud potential, visibility and aviation safety.
On the ground, Forestry Ministry firefighting teams, known as Manggala Agni, are working with the military, police, disaster agencies, meteorological authorities, local governments, communities, businesses and volunteers.
Their operations include direct firefighting, patrols, firebreaks, mop-up operations, peatland wetting and cooling of burned areas.
In Central Kalimantan, smoke haze remains a challenge despite the decline in hotspots. Visibility at Tjilik Riwut Airport in Palangka Raya fell to about 600 metres on Sunday, disrupting 14 aircraft movements, including seven arrivals and seven departures.
Conditions in South Sumatra are also raising concern. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) forecast low rainfall and below-normal precipitation across much of the province, particularly central and eastern areas, during the third dekad of September.
BMKG said some areas had experienced long to extremely long dry spells, with parts of the province recording more than 60 consecutive days without rain. Such conditions increase the vulnerability of vegetation and peatlands to fire.
Authorities have consequently intensified peatland wetting efforts, including water-management measures and water injection to maintain moisture during the dry season.
Air quality also remains uneven. PM2.5 monitoring showed good to moderate conditions in some parts of Indonesia, while several areas of Sumatra and Kalimantan recorded unhealthy to very unhealthy air, with some locations reaching hazardous levels. (nsh)
Banner photo: Ministry of Forestry
