Interfaith Coalition Calls for End to Indonesia's Recurring Forest Fires

Indonesia’s Interfaith Climate Secretariat Issues Urgent Communiqué to End Annual Fire Cycle

Every year, the routine returns with the dry season: the land ignites, emergency funds mobilize, and promises of structural reform echo across Jakarta, only to fade when the rains finally arrive. To break this punishing cycle, a broad coalition of religious bodies and civil society organizations issued a joint communiqué in Jakarta on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, demanding an absolute end to Indonesia’s recurring forest and land fires.

Initiated by the Interfaith Climate Action Joint Secretariat alongside Philanthropy Indonesia, the declaration titled “Hentikan Karhutla, Lindungi Warga, Benahi Tata Kelola” secured endorsements from nine organizations by Friday, Oct. 23, 2026.

The Human and Economic Toll of the 2026 Fires

The urgency behind the interfaith push is rooted in environmental and public health data gathered over the course of the year. Satellite monitoring conducted by Auriga Nusantara recorded 637,011 hectares burned across Indonesia between January and August 2026. The economic and health losses for that same period are estimated between Rp 39.3 trillion and Rp 123.1 trillion, according to scenarios calculated by the Center of Economic and Law Studies.

The physical toll on citizens has been immediate and severe. A situation report prepared by AYANA alongside CPPM SBM ITB documented 174,694 cases of acute respiratory infection over a five-week span from Aug. 18 to Sept. 21, with children under five accounting for 40,363 of those cases. The Health Ministry estimates that 10.7 million people in affected regions face high-risk exposure to haze, disproportionately threatening pregnant women, older residents, individuals with disabilities, and those managing pre-existing heart or lung conditions.

The environmental crisis has similarly breached national borders. On Oct. 9, Singapore’s Pollutant Standards Index climbed to 181, marking its highest reading for the year, while schools were forced to close across several Malaysian states due to the heavy drift.

“Every year it’s the same routine: the fires start, everyone is concerned, promises are made, and then we all forget once the rain comes. To be frank, our focus should be prevention, which means empowering the people on the front line and setting aside enough money for prevention before the dry season arrives. We initiated this communiqué with PFI because that cycle has to be broken.”

said Rizal Algamar, chair of the secretariat.

Five Core Demands for Structural Reform

The newly released communiqué outlines five specific positions designed to overhaul current environmental management. First, the coalition demands that resident safety and transparent air-quality data serve as the primary metrics for disaster response, ensuring clean water and targeted medical protection for vulnerable populations. Second, the framework calls for proactive prevention rather than reactive firefighting, demanding stricter reviews of land and peatland permits. Fourth, it urges expanded cross-border cooperation and open data-sharing across ASEAN nations. Fifth, the document calls for a unified mobilization of government, business, philanthropic, and faith-based resources.

Addressing the shortcomings of past administrative approaches, secretariat vice chair Rev. Johan Kristantara emphasized that emergency relief frequently arrives far too late in the crisis.

“Smoke doesn’t ask what religion you are before you breathe it in, and it doesn’t wait for an emergency to be declared. Handing out masks doesn’t count as protection yet. Help shouldn’t arrive only after our children are lining up at the health center.”

said Rev. Johan, who also serves as executive secretary for witness and integrity of creation at the Communion of Churches in Indonesia.

Philanthropy Indonesia and its partners have committed to acting as a centralized coordination hub to streamline health and recovery resources directly to impacted communities without bureaucratic overlap. With the secretariat setting a firm objective of achieving zero forest and land fires beginning in 2027, the coalition maintains that protecting the nation’s environment remains a moral and civic duty.