A group of civil‑society organisations in West Kalimantan has filed a class‑action lawsuit against the Indonesian national government over the region’s wildfires.

According to the plaintiffs, the government’s failure to act – even though the El Niño drought was predicted well before the dry season – amounts to negligence that caused the peatland fires and the resulting haze.

The court filing lists the president, the vice‑president, several ministers, the national police chief and local governors as defendants, holding them personally responsible for the disaster.

The fires began in July and, according to official data, more than 200 fire spots are still burning. The Health Ministry has recorded at least 175,000 cases of respiratory infections linked to the smoke since August.

Plaintiffs also say that over 70 % of the active fire spots are located on company concession lands, where palm‑oil plantation practices such as peatland clearing are common.

Glorio Sanen, legal coordinator of the group Nafas Kalbar, said the lawsuit aims to force the government to declare a national emergency, boost fire‑mitigation measures and provide free health care for vulnerable communities.

Environmental experts note that dried peat spreads fire quickly, and large‑scale palm‑oil development has turned these areas into high‑risk zones, making the government's inaction especially damaging.

If the court rules against the state, the case could set a precedent for holding governments accountable for climate‑related disasters and could pressure corporations to change land‑use practices.