In brief
Indonesia’s Nusantara Capital City Authority (OIKN) has linked 1,600 hectares of forest and land burned between July and October 2026 to deliberate clearing by palm‑oil firm PT AJP, citing field mapping and satellite imagery that revealed a rectangular burn pattern. OIKN has imposed initial administrative sanctions on the company and is tightening monitoring, reforestation, and fire‑preparedness plans across concession holders. Investigation of the incident is currently underway by police, with reports at hand from OIKN's deputy for environment and natural resources.
The Nusantara Capital City Authority (OIKN) announced on October 31 that 1,600 hectares of forest and land within the IKN area burned between July and October 2026, attributing the destruction to deliberate land‑clearing by palm‑oil company PT AJP.
Myrna Asnawati Safitri, OIKN Deputy for Environment and Natural Resources, said the agency’s field mapping showed the fires followed a distinct rectangular or elongated pattern, indicating intentional burning rather than random wildfires.
Even in several locations after the fires, new plant seedlings, such as oil palm and banana trees, were found. This pattern of cutting vegetation and then burning it is a common and recurring tactic.
Safitri added that roughly 900 to 1,000 hectares of the affected land lay within Bukit Soeharto Forest Park, about 500 hectares fell inside PT AJP’s concession area, and the rest was scattered across privately owned land.
OIKN has coordinated with law enforcement to investigate the perpetrators, with the police handling the case; it has already imposed an initial administrative sanction on PT AJP in the form of a government coercion order, following satellite hotspot monitoring since early August and field inspections confirming the fires within the company’s concession.
The authority plans to impose further sanctions in stages—starting with written warnings and potentially ending in government orders to restore land—warning that failure could lead to business permit suspension or revocation.
OIKN is also tightening field monitoring and requiring all concession holders to upgrade fire‑preparedness systems. The agency is expanding reforestation and fire‑preparedness plans across the IKN region and has forwarded its findings to the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Forestry for coordinated follow‑up actions.
