Transnational Palm and Oil Labour Solidarity (TPOLS) Network is urging the Indonesian government to immediately declare the forest and land fires (Karhutla) in Kalimantan and Sumatra a national disaster and to end impunity for corporations damaging the environment.
TPOLS asserts that these fires are ecological disasters caused by the state’s failure in spatial planning and weak oversight of monoculture plantations and extractive industries.
“These forest fires stem from ecological destruction through palm oil expansion that consumes peatlands and marginalizes indigenous and local communities who have long been the guardians of our natural sustainability,” said Rizal, TPOLS Coordinator, during a press conference held by TPOLS on Monday (Sept 7, 2026).
As of September, forest fires have occurred in several regions, including West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Riau, and Papua. The Ministry of Health reported that at least 13,500 people have had to be hospitalized due to respiratory infections.
Working Overtime to Extinguish Fires
TPOLS also emphasized that palm oil workers are among the groups most affected by the fires. This is due to the “no work, no pay” system enforced by the industry. Under this system, workers risk losing their wages and jobs if they do not work, as they are considered absent.
“Consequently, workers who choose not to work for the safety and health of themselves and their families risk losing their wages and even their jobs for being deemed absent from work,” Rizal added.
Echoing this, Damianus Fansi, a worker from Central Kalimantan, recounted that overtime hours were imposed by the management of one company, requiring workers to participate in extinguishing the fires.
“The impact felt is immense because last night, to tackle the fires, women were also included in the firefighting team. Employees were told to work overtime to put out the fires,” explained the Chairman of the Serikat Buruh Makin Bersatu (SBMB).
Furthermore, Damianus added that the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) provided by the company management to the workers for firefighting was considered inadequate. The company only provided thin cloth masks, limited to four pieces per week. Therefore, these masks had to be washed so they could be reused.
“There are stories from fellow employees who were given four thin cloth masks. Let alone wearing them from morning to evening, they wear them for two to three hours and then wash them to reuse,” Damianus added.
Impacted Workers’ Families
The poor fire handling and control system also impacts the safety and mental health of workers’ families. Irene Natalia Lambung, an administrator of Solidaritas Perempuan Mamut Menteng in Central Kalimantan, stated that family members are experiencing psychological distress in the form of anxiety.
“There is another impact on the psychological side. Women cannot sleep because they are anxious that their land will burn. The fires cause animals like snakes to enter residential areas and prey on livestock. They worry these animals will prey on their children,” Irene explained.
This ecological destruction not only causes forest fires but also massive floods striking Sumatra and Aceh. This serves as proof that the state is increasingly negligent toward citizens’ safety, prioritizing monoculture plantations and extractive industries.
Research by the Lokahita Foundation shows that the island of Sumatra has experienced an ecological deficit due to palm oil cover reaching 10.70 million hectares. This figure exceeds the upper limit of the estimated ecological carrying capacity of 10.69 million hectares.
Another ecological disaster issue is the drought currently occurring in the Barito River. This situation complicates the handling of forest fires in Kalimantan due to limited water sources.
“From this series of disasters, we see that they are not solely caused by natural events, but result from declining ecological functions that are increasingly being destroyed by industrial activities,” Rizal asserted.
During the press conference, TPOLS outlined seven points of demand:
- Stop the expansion of palm oil plantations and the impunity for corporations that destroy the environment and seize people’s land.
- Declare the forest and land fires and the series of disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra, and Kalimantan as National Disasters.
- Provide guarantees for workers’ safety and rights.
- Prosecute officials who have failed to anticipate the string of ecological disasters in Indonesia.
- Urge the central government to create gender-disaggregated data on those affected by the fires.
- Restore the rights of affected communities following the fires in Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Eastern Indonesia.
- Immediately take priority action in restoring environmental damage, including peatland restoration.