PONTIANAK, thekabarnews.com—The West Kalimantan provincial administration is expanding its response to forest and land fires (karhutla). It is pursuing suspected violations through administrative, civil and criminal proceedings. These legal measures complement its prevention and firefighting operations.

West Kalimantan Environment and Forestry Agency (DLHK Kalbar) head Adi Yani announced the policy at the governor’s office in Pontianak on Tuesday, Oct. 6. He said the authorities would choose the appropriate legal mechanism after examining the circumstances and evidence in each case.

“We begin with prevention and public education, move to fire control, and ultimately take legal action,” Adi Yani said.

The provincial administration is coordinating with the Forestry Ministry, the Law Ministry and the West Kalimantan Police. Regional authorities have also assembled data from district and municipal governments to support investigations and other legal proceedings.

“We are working with our colleagues from the Forestry Ministry, the Law Ministry and the police,” Adi Yani said.

Adi Yani said investigators could pursue criminal charges when evidence indicated an offense. The government could also seek civil remedies for environmental damage or impose administrative penalties for regulatory breaches.

“The measures may include criminal sanctions, civil action or administrative sanctions. We carry them out together,” he said.

However, the discovery of a fire inside a concession does not automatically establish that a company or individual committed an offense.

Authorities must investigate the cause, examine compliance with fire-prevention obligations and establish responsibility before imposing penalties or bringing a case to court.

The Forestry Ministry has already taken enforcement action against several companies operating in West Kalimantan. In August, the ministry imposed administrative sanctions on four forestry concession holders in West Kalimantan after inspections found fires in their operating areas.

The inspections assessed firefighting teams, equipment, water supplies and early-response systems, according to the Forestry Ministry.

In September, the ministry announced sanctions against five more forestry concession holders in Ketapang and Sanggau. The measures ranged from government-mandated corrective action to permit suspension, while criminal proceedings remained possible if investigators found evidence of an offense. The ministry said enforcement would apply to companies and individuals proven responsible.

Nationally, forestry authorities were processing 31 wildfire-related cases across 10 provinces as of Sept. 15. Twenty-two remained under preliminary investigation, seven had reached the investigation stage and two had been transferred to prosecutors. Four of those cases were in West Kalimantan.

Legal action forms one part of a broader response that includes patrols, public education and ground-based firefighting. Authorities also conducted weather-modification operations in West Kalimantan from Sept. 5 to Oct. 5 to wet peatlands and support wildfire control, as reported by BMKG.

The provincial administration said it would continue gathering information from local administrations so that suspected violations could move from field verification to the appropriate enforcement process.

The success of that policy will hinge on consistent investigations and transparent disclosure of the outcomes of those cases. Prevention and firefighting may reduce the damage, but credible enforcement is still needed to deter recurrences and hold proven offenders accountable.