JAKARTA, Aug 25 — Indonesia has imposed administrative sanctions on six forestry concession holders after investigations found fires had burned more than 1,500 hectares of land under their management across Kalimantan, as authorities step up action to tackle forest and land fires on the island.
ANTARA news agency reported that the Forestry Ministry's Forestry Supervision, Administrative Sanctions, and Civil Enforcement director Ardi Risman said the action involved four companies: PT WEL, PT FI, PT MPK, and PT WSP operating in West Kalimantan; PT NES in Central Kalimantan; and PT PSR in East Kalimantan.
“The Government Coercive Measure requires the companies to fulfil the obligations that have been stipulated, ranging from improving fire-control systems to restoring affected areas within the specified timeframe,” he said today.
The business licence of one company in West Kalimantan has also been suspended because fires in its concession were extensive and recurring, while failure to comply with the required measures could result in stronger sanctions, including licence revocation.
On social media, the Forestry Ministry said satellite monitoring as of 9pm yesterday detected 341 high-confidence hotspots across four Kalimantan provinces, comprising 129 in West Kalimantan, 107 in East Kalimantan, 85 in Central Kalimantan, and 20 in South Kalimantan.
Another 641 medium-confidence hotspots were recorded across West, Central and South Kalimantan, with West Kalimantan accounting for 315, Central Kalimantan 219, and South Kalimantan 107.
Indonesian authorities have also authorised the deployment of 36 foreign-registered helicopters and issued 35 special permits to 11 domestic air operators for aerial firefighting to contain the fires.
Yesterday, the Environment Ministry said it was pursuing legal action against about 30 companies nationwide over forest and land fires this year, seeking nearly Rp15 trillion (approximately RM3.42 billion) in state-loss claims and environmental restoration costs.
