Indonesia sues six companies over environmental harm in flood zones

Environmental groups accidental authorities besides holds work for granting firms close to raze ample tracts of land.

Indonesia’s authorities has filed aggregate lawsuits seeking much than $200m successful damages against six firms, aft deadly floods wreaked havoc crossed Sumatra, sidesplitting much than 1,000 radical past year, though environmentalists criticised the moves arsenic inadequate.

Environmentalists, experts and the authorities pointed the digit astatine deforestation for its relation successful last year’s disaster that washed torrents of mud and woody logs into villages crossed the northwestern portion of the island.

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The authorities is seeking 4.8 trillion rupiah ($283.8m) from six companies accused of unspecified harm to an country spanning much than 2,500 hectares, the Ministry of Environment said connected Thursday.

The sum represents some fines for harm and the projected monetary worth of betterment efforts.

The suits were filed to courts connected Thursday successful Jakarta and North Sumatra’s Medan, the ministry added.

“We firmly uphold the rule of polluter pays,” Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said successful a statement.

He added that immoderate corp that “profits by damaging the ecosystem indispensable beryllium held afloat liable for restoring it”.

The Environment Ministry declined to connection much details erstwhile speaking with the AFP quality bureau connected the alleged harm caused by the defendants, listed successful the connection lone by their initials.

The Indonesia Business Post reported that the ministry is besides conducting biology audits connected much than 100 companies operating successful the provinces of North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh, quoting Nurofiq arsenic saying that imaginable transgression suspects volition beryllium identified aft the audits are completed.

Separately, a task unit comprised of the military, police, Attorney General’s Office, and ministries has identified 12 companies suspected of contributing to flash floods and landslides successful Sumatra, The Indonesia Business Post said.

Environmental groups accidental the authorities besides holds immoderate work erstwhile granting companies the close to raze ample tracts of land.

Greenpeace Indonesia’s wood campaigner Arie Rompas called the lawsuits a “minimalist” move, adding that authorities should comprehensively reappraisal policies liable for the disaster.

“Besides the interaction of the clime crisis, the flooding was besides caused by onshore degradation, including deforestation, carried retired by corporations,” Arie told AFP.

“Those companies were granted permits by the government.”

Mining, plantations, and fires person caused the clearance of ample tracts of lush Indonesian rainforest implicit caller decades.

More than 240,000 hectares of superior wood were mislaid successful 2024, according to investigation by conservation start-up The TreeMap’s Nusantara Atlas project.

Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said past period that the authorities volition revoke 22 forestry permits crossed the country, including permits that encompass much than 100,000 hectares successful Sumatra.

Antoni did not specify whether the determination was linked to the disaster, though helium earlier said that the floods supply an accidental to “evaluate our policies”.

The “pendulum betwixt the system and ecology seems to person swung excessively acold towards the system and needs to beryllium pulled backmost to the centre,” Antoni said astatine the time.