Source: Greenpeace Statement –
Jakarta, September 22, 2026. About 40 million people across Kalimantan and Sumatra have been forced to breathe hazardous, suffocating haze caused by forest and peatland fires for two months. Yet the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka administration has shown no serious commitment to addressing the haze’s impact on public health, even ignoring calls to declare it a national disaster.
In various occasions, President Prabowo and his officials have focused solely on extinguishing fires and enforcing criminal and administrative laws, without addressing how to alleviate the burden on communities affected by the haze. This is neglecting the fact that the haze has violated citizens’ rights to clean, healthy air, exposed residents to upper respiratory tract infections (ISPA), and disrupted daily activities, including schooling.
“Beyond failing to mitigate forest and peatland fires that are both predictable and preventable, the Prabowo-Gibran administration has also failed to protect the public from the long-term effects of the cloying, hazardous haze. This failure once again exposes residents, particularly vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women, and the elderly, to various health risks,” said Belgis Habiba, Greenpeace Indonesia’s forest campaigner. Greenpeace team has heard testimony from parents whose children are suffering from coughing, dizziness, and gastroenteritis, despite spending their time indoors.
Haze from the peatland fires definitely worsens air quality in the affected areas and their surroundings. In Pontianak, PM2.5 pollution levels repeatedly exceeded 250.5 micrograms/m³—a trend that has persisted since August 27. This pollution level is categorized as hazardous.
An analysis by Greenpeace Indonesia also found 5,540 haze-source spots between August 8 and September 20, spread across 22 provinces. The number of these spots increased by about 2,000 over the last three weeks, expanding the affected areas beyond the initial seven provinces. Central Kalimantan recorded the highest number of haze source spots (1,477), followed by South Papua (1,243), West Kalimantan (1,209), and South Sumatra (619).
Transboundary haze has also reached neighboring countries, from Malaysia, Singapore, to Brunei Darussalam, as well as the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi recently met with President Prabowo to offer assistance in managing these peatland fires.
In fact, ASEAN has adopted the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP)–a pact designed to prevent, monitor, and mitigate the forest and land fires that trigger such haze, since two decades ago. But this year’s recurrence of transboundary haze once again highlights the limits of ASEAN’s role, given its preference for consultation, negotiation, and non-interference approaches.
“From one point of view, the offer of assistance to tackle the fires can be interpreted as a subtle form of protest from Malaysia against the transboundary haze. On the other hand, it is actually time for ASEAN leaders to take a firmer stance in ensuring mutual accountability, so it can fulfill the rights to clean and healthy air for Southeast Asian people,” said Fajri Fadhillah, Political and Legal Campaigner at Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
President Prabowo and his administration also failed to address the peatland degradation as the root cause of the fires and haze. Historically, massive fires in 1997-1998 followed the conversion of Kalimantan peatlands for a mega rice project during the New Order, when Prabowo’s father-in-law, Soeharto, was in office. Since then, peatland fires have become a recurring incident.
Greenpeace analysis found 2,951 haze-source spots across the peatland landscape as of September 20. Natural peat landscapes are characteristically wet, yet permits for plantation concessions, from pulpwood to palm oil, have allowed companies to clear and drain them. The analysis detected 859 haze-source spots inside 115 forest utilization concessions, and 774 haze-source spots within 210 palm oil concessions. Moreover, the analysis detected about 2,000 haze-source spots inside the forest production zone, and hundreds of spots within the conservation area.
Sapta Ananda Proklamasi, Greenpeace Indonesia’s senior researcher, said that law enforcement regarding peatland fires rarely targets corporate actors. Consequently, it has little to no deterrent effect on the companies whose concessions were burned, even repeatedly. Efforts to seek justice for the haze also often face an arduous path.
For instance, Sapta explained, South Sumatra residents in August 2024 sued three pulpwood companies over smoke haze caused by peatland fires in their concessions. The court dismissed the lawsuit, and the plaintiffs are awaiting the cassation decision. “President Prabowo has repeatedly mentioned law enforcement against companies, but he must also be aware of the fact that justice has yet to side with the haze victims,” Sapta said.
Belgis Habiba added, “The destruction of forests and peatlands has exacted a heavy toll: biodiversity loss, carbon emissions that exacerbate the climate crisis, and the deprivation of rights to clean, healthy air. The government must stop the rhetoric; it has to immediately attend to haze victims–ensuring they have rapid, free access to healthcare and medical treatment–and tackle the root causes of forest and peatland fires. Revoke the permits of companies whose concessions repeatedly burned and ensure peatland restoration. Otherwise, people will continue to suffer because the government fails to grasp the root cause of the haze.” [END]
Editor’s Note:
[1] A report by Greenpeace Indonesia and Greenpeace Malaysia titled “The ASEAN Haze Trauma” details the impacts of recurring haze experienced by communities across the region.
[2] The three companies sued by the South Sumatra residents are PT Bumi Mekar Hijau, PT Bumi Andalas Permai, and PT Sebangun Bumi Andalas (SBA) Wood Industries. All three are timber suppliers to the Sinar Mas Group. The Palembang District Court rejected the residents’ lawsuit. The plaintiffs are currently awaiting the outcome of their cassation appeal at the Supreme Court.