PONTIANAK, thekabarnews.com—An Indonesian environmental group has urged President Prabowo Subianto to give his planned peatland and mangrove agency strong enforcement powers. According to them, another institution will not prevent recurring fires unless the government confronts damaged peatlands and corporate concessions.

The West Kalimantan chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) issued the warning on Saturday, September 26. This statement came two days after Prabowo decided to establish the National Peatland and Mangrove Management Agency (BPGMN).

Prabowo announced the decision following a meeting with researchers and academics at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on September 24.

The government said the BPGMN would report directly to the president and employ scientists and professionals. Its initial focus is on preventing forest and land fires in peat-rich provinces.

Walhi West Kalimantan Executive Director Sri Hartini said the new institution must address the policies and commercial activities that have degraded peat ecosystems.

“The BPGMN must not become merely an institution created to contain a crisis or provide structural lip service,” Sri said.

“West Kalimantan’s peatlands continue to burn not because the country lacks institutions, but because the state lacks the courage to revoke the concession permits of corporations proven to have drained and burned peatlands.”

“If the BPGMN operates without firm authority to enforce the law against corporate environmental crimes, it will only repeat past mitigation failures,” she added.

Walhi called on the BPGMN and law enforcement authorities to conduct a comprehensive review of concessions that have experienced repeated fires.

Where evidence establishes violations, Walhi wants the government to recommend permit revocation and pursue sanctions under environmental law.

Walhi West Kalimantan also urged authorities to restore the hydrological function of degraded peatlands through large-scale rewetting.

Sri said restoration should cover areas drained by industrial canals. Instead, she says, authorities concentrate enforcement or rehabilitation measures on land managed by small communities.

West Kalimantan contains about 2.8 million hectares of peat ecosystems across 124 peatland hydrological units. This is according to the government’s national peatland map.

The province accounts for a substantial share of the approximately 8.4 million hectares mapped across Kalimantan.

Walhi’s other demands include public access to updated concession and peatland maps. They want meaningful participation by residents and academics in ecosystem monitoring.

It also wants the government to recognize Indigenous knowledge and strengthen community-led protection.

The criticism comes as authorities continue responding to fires across West Kalimantan.

BNPB reported that, from Jan. 1 to Sept. 3, police investigations into fire cases in the province covered about 1,692.9 hectares. That figure refers only to land included in law-enforcement cases, not the province’s total burned area.

President Prabowo has said the government will continue investigating companies suspected of deliberately starting fires.

However, the administration’s initial announcement has not yet specified the BPGMN’s precise enforcement authority or its relationship with environmental regulators and the police.

Walhi said those details will determine whether the agency can prevent future crises.

For Walhi, success will depend not on creating another administrative structure but on restoring damaged peat landscapes. It will also depend on disclosing concession data and acting on substantiated corporate violations.