West Kalimantan wildfire lawsuit adjourned after government defendants miss first hearing

A West Kalimantan court adjourned the first hearing of a class-action lawsuit over Indonesia’s handling of forest and land fires on 7 October after government defendants did not attend. Indigenous and civil-society plaintiffs brought the case in Pontianak, on Borneo, seeking action on recurring fires and haze that have affected residents and neighbouring countries. The next hearing is set for 21 October.

The lawsuit names President Prabowo Subianto and the governor of West Kalimantan among 10 defendants, The Guardian reported. Reuters identified the four plaintiffs from a court filing as the West Kalimantan chapter of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, the local branch of Catholic Youth, Perkumpulan Laman Punyung Indonesia and resident Sisilius Rami. Their claims about government negligence remain allegations before the court.

What the West Kalimantan plaintiffs want from the court

The plaintiffs are seeking recovery and rehabilitation measures, including coverage of residents’ healthcare costs, according to The Guardian. ABC News reported that they also called for a national emergency declaration, stronger measures to prevent and control fires, free healthcare for vulnerable groups and prosecution of those responsible. Those are requests made by the plaintiffs; the reporting does not establish which, if any, the court could order.

The case centres on fires the plaintiffs say recur so often that authorities should prepare for them. Glorio Sanen, legal coordinator of the group Nafas Kalbar, told ABC News that El Niño had been forecast before the dry season and questioned why the government appeared unprepared for the prolonged drought. Reuters reported that plaintiff Yakobus Kumis, who represents a Dayak group, said authorities had ignored warning signs before the fires broke out.

How fires and haze are affecting residents

ABC News reported that Indonesia’s Health Ministry had recorded at least 175,000 respiratory infection cases linked to fires since August. The figure is a ministry count reported by ABC, and the available reporting does not independently establish the cause of each case. ABC also reported official data showing more than 200 fire spots still burning.

Rami told ABC that smoke stung his eyes whenever he went outside and that he wore a mask daily. Pontianak resident and peatland advocate Arniyanti told the broadcaster that smoke entered homes and that fires spread more readily across damaged, dried peatlands. Their accounts describe the conditions residents say they are living with while the legal case begins.

The effects extend beyond West Kalimantan. Reuters reported hazardous haze in neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore, while The Guardian said schools in Malaysia’s Johor state were to close on Thursday and Friday because of worsening air quality. Reuters described this year’s Indonesian fires, concentrated mainly on Sumatra and Borneo, as the country’s most intense in 11 years.

What Indonesia’s government has said and what comes next

Indonesia’s Government Communication Agency told ABC News that it respected the right of citizens and civil-society organisations to bring legal action. Because the matter was before the court, the government would address the issues through that process, the agency said. This response is distinct from the defendants’ failure to attend the first hearing.

The agency also told ABC that protecting communities and containing the fires were government priorities. It cited operations treating about 467 hectares across six priority provinces, against a target of about 654 hectares, and said more than 69,000 personnel, volunteers and private-sector participants were supporting joint operations. Those figures describe the government’s stated response; they do not resolve the plaintiffs’ claim that its preparation and action were inadequate.

The legal effort has a precedent. ABC reported that seven residents filed a similar class action in 2016 over fires the previous year. A district court initially ruled for those plaintiffs, but the decision was overturned in 2022. That history leaves the outcome of the new case open, even as the plaintiffs seek court intervention over another fire season.

Reuters reported that the government had warned fires could continue until November, with El Niño aggravating conditions. ABC said the wet season was not expected in most of Indonesia until that month. The immediate legal milestone is the 21 October hearing. The cited reports contain no ruling on negligence or on the remedies sought by the West Kalimantan plaintiffs.