Firms yet to compensate for Indonesia forest fires

Fires burning in Pelalawan, Riau province, in 2015. The fires caused 140,000 Indonesians to suffer respiratory ailments after being exposed to the choking haze that travelled across borders and blanketed parts of Singapore and Malaysia.PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

FEB 16, 2019, 5:00 AM SGT

Ten companies ordered to pay $260m after the government filed suits flout court rulings

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja

Indonesia Correspondent

None of the companies responsible for plantation and forest fires in Indonesia have paid compensation to the government ordered by the courts.

Ten companies were ordered to pay 2.7 trillion rupiah (S$260 million) after the government filed lawsuits between 2013 and 2018 in connection with the illegal fires.

Another firm based in Pekanbaru, Riau, Merbau Pelalawan Lestari, a supplier to Singapore-based pulpwood company Asia Pacific Resources International, was fined a staggering 16.2 trillion rupiah in August 2016 largely for illegal logging on 5,590ha of forest.

“As citizens, if we don’t pay our taxes, we get sent to prison. So why aren’t the owners of these big companies being forced to pay what they owe or sent to prison if they don’t pay?” Mr Arie Rompas, a senior Indonesia forest campaigner with Greenpeace, said in a statement yesterday.

Greenpeace noted that the 10 forest and plantation fire cases were lodged between 2012 and 2015, against oil palm, sago and pulpwood companies.The illegal logging case related to offences committed as far back as 2004.

“By not forcing these companies to pay, the government is sending a dangerous message: Company profit comes before the law, clean air, health and forest protection,” Mr Arie said. He added that the amount in compensation owed to the Indonesian people could be used to finance large-scale forest restoration, as well as to build health clinics and emergency response facilities for use when the fires strike again.

Mr Jasmin Ragil Utomo, director for environmental dispute settlement at the Environment and Forestry Ministry, replying via text message to queries from The Straits Times, said that two of the 11 firms had expressed a willingness to pay the compensation, while an appeal lodged by two other firms were ongoing, making any demand for payment inappropriate at this point.

By not forcing these companies to pay, the government is sending a dangerous message: Company profit comes before the law, clean air, health and forest protection.

MR ARIE ROMPAS, a senior Indonesia forest campaigner with Greenpeace, said in a statement yesterday.

Four Indonesian provinces, including Riau, declare disaster alerts for forest fires

“Those that are not paying compensation will surely face asset sequestration,” Mr Jasmin said.

Under the Indonesian legal system, firms which do not honour court rulings on monetary penalties can be deemed as having debts to the government. Failing to make repayment can lead to their assets being sequestered by the state.

President Joko Widodo’s administration has been resolute in tackling forest and plantation fires, and illegal logging, following the 2015 fires which caused 140,000 Indonesians to suffer respiratory ailments after being exposed to the choking haze that travelled across borders and blanketed parts of Singapore and Malaysia.

Stepped-up law enforcement – including a shoot-on-sight order against fire-starters – and better fire-fighting equipment mandated for plantation firms, have resulted in a significant decline in the scale of the fires, an annual phenomenon usually in the dry season. Mr Joko has cracked the whip on local officials too to get a grip on the problem, issuing an unprecedented threat to sack any provincial police chief or local military commander in areas where fires spread uncontrollably.

Since 2015, the government has also stepped up efforts to halt development of peatlands, as dried-out peatlands are prone to fire and were a major source of the choking, toxic haze. Between 2015 and 2018, Indonesia has administratively sanctioned 523 firms and individuals for environmental violations, according to the government. It claimed that the total forest area saved as a result of more stringent prevention and law enforcement reached 8.29 million ha since the 2015 fires.

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/firms-yet-to-compensate-for-indonesia-forest-fires