Jakarta. The Indonesian government has revoked the forestry permits of five companies managing more than 92,000 hectares of concessions across Kalimantan after fires were recorded within their concession areas, Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni announced Monday.

The five companies operate in West, South and Central Kalimantan and together manage 92,464 hectares of forest concessions.

Raja Juli said the permit revocations were part of the government's enforcement campaign against forest and land fires.

“This is an instruction from the president that law enforcement must be impartial -- it must not target only the small players,” Raja Juli said.

The five companies are PT Wana Lestari Jaya, which manages about 29,000 hectares in Sanggau and Sekadau, West Kalimantan; PT Prima Multi Buana, with 11,882 hectares in Banjar, South Kalimantan; PT Pancaran Wana Nusa, with 3,812 hectares in Lamandau, Central Kalimantan; PT Grash Putri Perdana, with 24,990 hectares across Lamandau, Sukamara and Ketapang; and PT Bagus Wahana Lestari, with 18,640 hectares in Kapuas, Central Kalimantan.

The Forestry Ministry said fires were recorded across varying areas within each company's concession.

The largest affected area was within PT Pancaran Wana Nusa's concession, where 497 hectares were recorded as burned. Fires affected 374.99 hectares in PT Grash Putri Perdana's concession and 231.10 hectares in PT Bagus Wahana Lestari's area.

The ministry also recorded 47 hectares of burned land within PT Wana Lestari Jaya's concession and 18.20 hectares within PT Prima Multi Buana's concession.

Combined, the figures indicate that about 1,168 hectares were affected by fires across the five concessions.

Raja Juli said holders of forest utilization business permits are legally responsible for protecting their concession areas and complying with obligations attached to their permits.

He said the five companies had failed to fulfill those responsibilities, prompting the government to revoke their permits.

“Because they neglected and did not pay attention to these obligations, today I revoke the permits of these five companies,” Raja Juli said.

The minister said the action was also intended as a deterrent to other companies operating under Forestry Ministry permits.

He warned concession holders that they must neither set fires nor allow forest and land fires to occur within the areas under their management.

The latest action follows a series of sanctions imposed by the Forestry Ministry during this year's fire season.

As of Sept. 16, Raja Juli said the ministry had suspended the business permits of 26 companies in connection with forest and land fires. Administrative sanctions can also require companies to restore affected areas, while cases may proceed to criminal investigation if authorities find indications of criminal violations.

Earlier this month, the ministry imposed sanctions on another group of five forestry concession holders in West Kalimantan after fires were detected within their areas, requiring environmental restoration and warning that cases could proceed to criminal enforcement where evidence warranted it.

Add as a preferred source on Google +