Indigenous activist and filmmaker Kynan Tegar has warned that the devastating fires currently ravaging Kalimantan are intentional acts by agricultural corporations. Speaking on the Mongabay Newscast, Tegar stated that these blazes are part of a process dating back to the 1970s, when the Indonesian New Order regime under Suharto began leasing land concessions for gold mines, palm oil, and logging.
While the Indonesian government has recently tightened its “zero-burning” approach through Presidential Instruction No. 11/2026 and Ministry of Environment Circular Letter No. 16/2026, Tegar and other observers suggest these measures are insufficient. Tegar notes that corporations have drained over 1 million hectares of peatland, creating a crisis that extends beyond the flames to a critical lack of freshwater for local and Indigenous communities, a situation exacerbated by El Niño and climate change.
Fires Consume 800,000 Hectares of Forest Land
The scale of the destruction is vast. While Tegar noted that some 48,000 hectares have burned this year, data shared by activist Leonardo DiCaprio on Oct. 5, 2026, indicates that approximately 800,000 hectares of forest land have been consumed across Sumatra and Kalimantan. DiCaprio highlighted that burning carbon-rich peatlands release massive amounts of stored carbon, further driving the biodiversity crisis. He noted that rising temperatures have turned forests into tinderboxes easily ignited by intentional clearing.
The human and wildlife costs include:
- Widespread respiratory illnesses, particularly in children, caused by thick smoke from peatlands.
- The loss of high-canopy habitats for the Bornean white-bearded gibbon and Borneo orangutans.
- Extreme strain on Indigenous populations who are struggling for water despite living in one of the world’s largest rainforests.
The Struggle for Land and Identity
Tegar’s advocacy is rooted in the experience of her community, Sungai Utik, which has defended its land for over a century. In her 2024 spoken-word music video, Earth Defender, she describes the reality of “heading off excavators using our bodies” and the loss of relatives in the fight to protect ecosystems.
Legal Limbo and Future Outlook
The fight for Indigenous rights remains stalled in the government. The Indigenous People’s Bill, which would provide legal recognition to customary lands, has been in parliamentary limbo for 16 years. Tegar argues that the bill lacks elements to redress historic inequality and that the problem requires more than a legal solution.
Looking forward, Tegar is among 50 Indigenous filmmakers contributing to the movie A Day on Earth, filmed on Earth Day 2025 and scheduled for a 2027 release. The project aims to document the climate crisis as an existential threat.
Peatland Restoration Failures
While restoration reduced fires in 2019, that impact was not seen during the 2023 El Niño event.
As the 2026 El Niño continues to parch the land, the effectiveness of government policy remains in question. It is still unclear whether the Indonesian government can implement a strategy for extreme drought that moves beyond zero-burning policies to actually prevent restored peatlands from burning.