Indonesia seeks $284m from six companies for environmental damage linked to floods that killed over 1,000, citing the “polluter pays” principle.
JAKARTA: The Indonesian government has filed lawsuits seeking over $200 million in damages against six firms following deadly floods in Sumatra last year.
The disaster killed more than 1,000 people, with torrents of mud and logs washing into villages across the island’s northwest.
The Environment Ministry is seeking 4.8 trillion rupiah (USD 283.8 million) from the companies for alleged damage spanning more than 2,500 hectares.
The sum represents fines for environmental damage and the proposed cost of recovery efforts.
The ministry declined to provide further details on the alleged damage caused by the defendants, listed only by their initials.
Lawsuits were filed on Thursday in courts in Jakarta and Medan, North Sumatra.
“We firmly uphold the principle of polluter pays,” Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said in a statement.
Hanif warned that any corporation profiting by damaging the ecosystem must be held fully responsible for restoring it.
Environmental groups say the government also bears responsibility for granting companies permits to raze large land tracts.
Greenpeace Indonesia’s forest campaigner Arie Rompas called the lawsuits a “minimalist” move.
He urged authorities to comprehensively review the policies responsible for the disaster.
“Besides the impact of the climate crisis, the flooding was also caused by land degradation, including deforestation, carried out by corporations,” Arie told AFP.
“Those companies were granted permits by the government.”
Mining, plantations, and fires have cleared large tracts of lush Indonesian rainforest in recent decades.
Over 240,000 hectares of primary forest were lost in 2024, according to analysis by The TreeMap’s “Nusantara Atlas” project.
Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said last month the government will revoke 22 forestry permits nationwide.
The revoked permits encompass more than 100,000 hectares in Sumatra.
Raja did not specify if the decision was linked to the disaster but said the floods provide an opportunity to evaluate policies.
“The pendulum between the economy and ecology seems to have swung too far towards the economy and needs to be pulled back to the centre,” he said.
