In brief
Indonesia will revoke or restrict the land cultivation rights of 11 plantation firms that repeatedly caused forest and land fires in Kalimantan, according to a ministerial statement. Three companies will face full revocation, while the rest will receive partial revocations, denial of new rights or be reviewed further. The measures come after police recommendations and aim to curb illicit land use and prevent future fires.
On Monday, Jakarta, Indonesia announced that it will revoke or restrict the land cultivation rights of 11 plantation firms linked to repeated forest and land fires in Kalimantan.
Indonesia’s Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning, Nusron Wahid, said the action follows recommendations from the national police’s criminal investigation department.
Wahid stated that three of the companies will receive a full revocation of their cultivation rights after repeated fires affected more than half of their concession areas and that the firms lacked adequate fire‑prevention facilities and violated land‑use conditions.
Other companies will face partial revocation, denial of new rights or a further review of their land‑use status.
The affected concession areas span South, West and East Kalimantan.
Repeated fires in Kalimantan have destroyed large patches of peatland and forest, prompting government scrutiny of plantation practices and the role of large agribusinesses in fire risk.
By revoking or restricting cultivation rights, the government signals a shift toward tighter enforcement of land‑use regulations and a move to reduce the sector’s contribution to Indonesia’s forest fire problem.
