Indonesia's Environment Ministry is pursuing 21 firms after fires scorched 11,404.69 hectares across seven provinces, with monitoring signs now installed on affected concessions.
Cover image: Smouldering peatland forest fire with smoke over Kalimantan — photo by Muhammad Pasya Ramadhan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Indonesia's Environment Ministry has launched law-enforcement proceedings against 21 companies after forest and land fires scorched 11,404.69 hectares across seven provinces in Kalimantan and Sumatra, officials said on 3 September 2026. The Indonesia 21 firms forest fires legal action September 2026 expands the haze crackdown beyond the earlier Jambi focus and sends a wider compliance signal ahead of the September peak.
Details published by ANTARA on 3 September 2026 at 11:04 WIB confirm that Civil Servant Investigators (PPNS) are on the ground verifying burns and installing official monitoring signs on the 21 concessions. Deputy for Environmental Law Enforcement Rizal Irawan said field verification and sealing are underway on all affected sites. This is a step up from the Indonesia probe of three firms over Jambi wildfires reported on 2 September; that probe covered three companies in Jambi, while the new nationwide action covers 21 firms and more than eleven thousand hectares.
Which provinces and how many hectares are involved?
Ministry data break the footprint into seven provinces, led by southern Kalimantan:
| Province | Firms under action | Burned area (ha) |
|---|---|---|
| South Kalimantan | 4 | 6,595.15 |
| West Kalimantan | 7 | 3,760.03 |
| South Sumatra | 4 | 727.77 |
| Central Kalimantan | 3 | 95.20 |
| Lampung | 1 | 202.73 |
| Riau | 1 | 11.91 |
| East Kalimantan | 1 | 5.01 |
| Total | 21 | 11,404.69 |
The two Kalimantans account for 10,355.18 hectares, or about 90% of the area now under enforcement. West Kalimantan has the highest firm count at seven, while South Kalimantan has the largest single-province footprint.
Why is enforcement widening now?
Environment Minister Moh Jumhur Hidayat previously issued preventive notices to 2,226 companies nationwide, mandating firefighting personnel, infrastructure and mitigation plans before the dry season peaks. The 2 September to 3 September surge moves from warnings to field action, with PPNS sealing sites and posting monitoring markers. The ministry said the markers stay until remediation and any sanctions are settled.
For travellers, the operational impact has been pockets rather than nationwide shutdowns. Recent examples include Mount Sinabung eruption that cancelled 21 flights at Kualanamu and the approval of 35 foreign aircraft to fight Kalimantan fires, which shows where firefighting and aviation are intersecting. Haze has also clipped regional schedules in Penang haze that dampened heritage tours, but school and tourism operations continue outside the cordoned concessions.
What is the ASEAN haze context?
Officials linked domestic enforcement to the regional track. Rizal noted that Minister Jumhur chaired the Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution in Bali on 9 July 2026, convening environment leadership from Malaysia, Singapore and ASEAN delegates. The meeting reaffirmed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) and the shared target of a Transboundary Haze-Free ASEAN by 2030, and was preceded by the 27th Technical Working Group session. That framework is why nationwide monitoring, not only Jambi, matters for cross-border haze diplomacy.
What should travellers and operators do?
- Track air-quality indices for Kalimantan and Sumatra hubs if you have connecting flights through Palembang, Pekanbaru or Pontianak.
- Keep outdoor itineraries flexible and have indoor alternatives for mid-day haze peaks.
- Check national park notices: Mount Tambora hiking closed from 1 September on fire risk shows preventive closures are now routine.
- Corporate travellers visiting concessions should confirm site access, as sealed areas are off-limits until cleared by PPNS.
Frequently asked questions
How many firms and hectares are covered in the 3 September 2026 action?
21 firms over 11,404.69 hectares across seven provinces. South Kalimantan leads on area (6,595.15 ha over 4 firms) and West Kalimantan on firm count (7 firms over 3,760.03 ha).
Is this the same as the Jambi probe reported on 2 September?
No. The Jambi probe covered three firms in Jambi. The 3 September enforcement is nationwide and adds 18 more firms and about 10,700 additional hectares to the total under verification, with monitoring signs installed on all 21 sites.
What triggered the wider enforcement?
Preventive advisories to 2,226 companies earlier in the season required fire personnel and infrastructure. Firms where fires still scorched land are now under PPNS verification and site sealing, a shift from warning to enforcement.
What is the ASEAN haze target?
ASEAN members reaffirmed the AATHP and the goal of a Transboundary Haze-Free ASEAN by 2030 at the MSC meeting in Bali on 9 July 2026, following the 27th Technical Working Group session.
