West Kalimantan Residents File Class Action Over Forest Fires

PONTIANAK – JAKARTAWEEKLY.COM — A 14-member legal team known as Nafas Kalbar has filed a class action lawsuit at the Pontianak District Court over forest and land fires and haze that have affected communities across West Kalimantan.

The lawsuit was registered on Wednesday, September 16, under Case Number 292/Pdt.G/2026/PN, with the first hearing scheduled for October 7, 2026.

The legal action represents the West Kalimantan Regional Council of the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN), Pemuda Katolik West Kalimantan, Perkumpulan Laman Punyung Indonesia, and residents who the plaintiffs say were affected by haze for 55 days following forest and land fires in the region.

Government Agencies Named as Defendants

The defendants include the President and Vice President of Indonesia, along with several ministries and government agencies, including the Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, the Indonesian National Police and the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

The lawsuit also names the Governor of West Kalimantan and the Chief of the West Kalimantan Regional Police as defendants. Meanwhile, 17 regents and mayors across West Kalimantan have been named as additional parties in the case.

According to the plaintiffs, the lawsuit was filed in response to what they describe as government negligence and failure to prevent and address forest and land fires that have occurred repeatedly in the province.

The plaintiffs’ legal team said the 2026 fires were among the most severe in the region, alongside major fire and haze events recorded in 2015 and 2019.

Health and Public Services Impacted

The plaintiffs also pointed to an increase in cases of acute respiratory infections (ARI) and lung infections that they associate with exposure to the haze.

They said the conditions have also disrupted education, with schools and universities forced to suspend activities, while flights to and from West Kalimantan have been affected by reduced visibility.

As part of its provisional demands, the Nafas Kalbar legal team is asking the court to declare the forest and land fires and resulting haze in West Kalimantan a national disaster.

The plaintiffs are also seeking an order requiring the immediate release of emergency funding from the national budget’s disaster reserve to support emergency medical treatment, weather modification operations, efforts to extinguish underground peat fires and humanitarian logistical assistance for affected communities.

In the main lawsuit, the plaintiffs are asking the court to grant their claims in full, recognize the class action under Supreme Court Regulation No. 1 of 2002 on Class Action Procedures, and declare that the defendants committed an unlawful act by government authorities (Onrechtmatige Overheidsdaad).

The case will proceed with its first hearing at the Pontianak District Court on October 7.