'Clean air nowhere to be found': Indonesian government faces lawsuit over forest fires

A group of civil society organisations in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province has filed a class action lawsuit against the national government over its handling of wildfires in the region.

Proceedings began yesterday in Pontianak, the capital of the region located on the island of Borneo.

According to the plaintiffs, the peatland fires and accompanying widespread haze are an almost annual occurrence and should have been anticipated.

Glorio Sanen, legal coordinator of the group Nafas Kalbar, which was formed to hold the government accountable, said the government's failure to act and negligence were responsible for the fires and its impact.

"We actually find it a bit strange because El Niño had been predicted well before this dry season began," he said.

"Yet it seems as though we were not prepared to deal with this prolonged drought."

Mr Sanen said the plaintiffs urged the Indonesian government to declare the fires a national emergency, strengthen fire mitigation efforts, provide free health care for vulnerable groups and prosecute those responsible.

The court filing shows Indigenous people and religious youth groups are among the plaintiffs.

The defendants include the president, vice-president, ministers and the national police chief, as well as local governors and mayors.

The Indonesian government said they respected the right of citizens and civil society organisations to pursue legal action through the courts.

"As the matter is now before the court, the government will address the issues raised through the legal process and will allow the proceedings to take their due course," a spokesperson for Indonesia's Government Communication Agency told the ABC.

Public health impacts

Millions of people, including in neighbouring countries Singapore and Malaysia, have been dealing with toxic haze caused by the forest fires that started in July this year.

Indonesia's Health Ministry has recorded at least 175,000 respiratory infection cases linked to fires since August.

According to the official data, more than 200 fire spots are still burning, with the wet season in most parts of Indonesia not expected to arrive until November.

Sisilius Rami, the only independent plaintiff in the group, said his eyes would sting from the smoke every time he went outside and had to wear masks every day.

"Clean and fresh air was nowhere to be found … we still cannot see blue skies or bright clouds."

Pontianak resident Arniyanti, who goes by one name, runs a foundation, Lembaga Gemawan, dedicated to preserving peatland ecosystems in West Kalimantan.

She said fires more easily spread across peatlands damaged and dried out as a result of practices such as monoculture planting of palm oil.

"Based on our finding, companies are behind the burning and we found more than 70 per cent of fire spots were in company concession areas," Ms Arniyanti said.

"It's hard for us to breathe inside our houses, because the smoke enters through the ventilation."

Last month, Indonesian police said they had identified 196 people suspected of starting forest fires and investigated 96 companies over fires that burned more than 25,000 hectares.

The Indonesian government said they imposed administrative sanctions on 26 corporations, including revocations and suspensions of their permit as well as orders for restoration measures.

Plantation owners and traditional farmers often start fires to clear land, according to the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency's special crimes unit.

Investigations into possible corporate involvement in lighting the fires is underway, with charges carrying possible prison sentences of up to 15 years.

Previous lawsuit unsuccessful

In 2016, seven Indonesian residents filed a similar class action lawsuit against former president Joko Widodo's government over their handling of forest fires in 2015.

The district court decided in favour of the plaintiffs, but the decision was overturned in 2022.

Mr Sanen said he was aware of the outcome of the past class action but said they were "prepared with evidence".

"If we're asking law enforcement authorities to enforce the law on forest and land fires in a transparent and fair manner, how could they object to that?" he said.

"That's their job. Even if we hadn't filed a lawsuit, that would still be their responsibility."

The Government Communication Agency said the government's priority remained protecting communities and containing forest and land fires.

According to data provided by the agency, firefighting operations had treated about 467 hectares across six priority provinces, against a target treatment area of about 654 hectares.

It said the joint operations were supported by more than 69,000 military, police and disaster management agency personnel, volunteers and private sector companies.

"BNPB [the disaster management agency] and the joint task force continue to optimise coordinated ground and aerial operations, with particular attention to active fire points, peatland and underground fires, and areas that are difficult to access or have limited water sources," the agency said.