Environmental groups say the government is also responsible for granting companies the right to destroy large tracts of land.
Published on January 16, 2026
The Indonesian government has filed multiple lawsuits against six companies seeking more than $200 million in damages following the deadly attacks. Floods wreaked havoc Across Sumatra, more than 1,000 people were killed last year, although environmentalists criticized the move as insufficient.
Environmentalists, experts and the government pointed to their role in deforestation Last year’s disaster which washed mud and wooden logs into the villages in the northwestern part of the island.
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The government is seeking 4.8 trillion rupiah ($283.8m) from six companies accused of causing unspecified damage to more than 2,500 hectares, the environment ministry said on Thursday.
This amount represents both the penalty for damage and the proposed economic value of recovery efforts.
The cases were filed in courts in Jakarta and Medan in North Sumatra on Thursday, the ministry added.
“We strongly support the polluter pay principle,” Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Noorofiq said in a statement.
He added that “any corporation that makes a profit by damaging the ecosystem should be held fully responsible for restoring it”.
Speaking to the AFP news agency about the alleged damage caused by the defendants, the Environment Ministry declined to give further details, listing only their initials in the statement.
Indonesia Business Post reported that the ministry is also conducting environmental audits of more than 100 companies operating in North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh provinces, citing Nurofic as saying that potential criminal suspects will be identified after the audit is completed.
Separately, a task force comprising the military, police, attorney general’s office and ministries has identified 12 companies suspected of contributing to flash floods and landslides in Sumatra, the Indonesia Business Post said.
Environmental groups say that giving companies the right to destroy large tracts of land also carries some responsibility for the government.
Greenpeace Indonesia’s forest campaigner Ari Rompas called the lawsuits a “minimal” move, adding that authorities should conduct a comprehensive review of the policies responsible for the disaster.
“Besides the impact of the climate crisis, land degradation, including deforestation by corporations, also caused flooding,” Eri told AFP.
“Those companies were licensed by the government.”
Large tracts of Indonesian rainforest have been cleared in recent decades due to mining, logging and fire.
More than 240,000 hectares of primary forest could be lost in 2024, according to an analysis by conservation start-up TreeMap’s Nusantara Atlas project.
Forestry Minister Raja Julie Antoni said last month that the government would cancel 22 forestry permits across the country, including more than 100,000 hectares in Sumatra.
Antony did not clarify whether the decision was related to the disaster, although he previously said the floods provided an opportunity to “evaluate our policies”.
“The pendulum between economy and ecology seems to have swung too far towards the economy and needs to be pulled back to the center,” Antony said at the time.