CEO Note: Forest Fires as Terrorism

The document discusses the devastating impact of peatland fires in Indonesia, exacerbated by El Niño and agribusiness drainage, and supports President Subianto Prabowo's proposal to classify these acts as "ecological terrorism."

• The drainage of peatland rainforests by paper, palm oil, and rubber companies for monoculture plantations has degraded more than half of Indonesia's peatlands, transforming them into highly flammable landscapes that burn intensely during high-temperature events.
• Peat fires produce significantly higher levels of pollutants than other tropical forest fires, including three times more organic carbon and fine particulate matter, five times more sulfur dioxide, and two times more methane and carbon monoxide.
• Research from the CREA research center indicates that forest fires killed 1,700 Indonesians in August alone, resulting from the draining of flammable ecosystems.
• President Subianto Prabowo has proposed treating forest and land fires as "ecological terrorism" and has called for zero tolerance toward responsible companies, with the government launching 219 criminal investigations and 95 investigations into companies.
• The Indonesian government's 'Food and Energy Estates' project is identified as a driver of deforestation and a source of fire hotspots, particularly in South Papua, where hotspots are concentrated in areas designated for the program and National Strategic Projects.

APA

Hurowitz, G. (2026). CEO Note: Forest Fires as Terrorism. Mighty Earth. https://mightyearth.org/article/ceo-note-forest-fires-as-terrorism/

Chicago

Hurowitz, Glenn. CEO Note: Forest Fires as Terrorism. Mighty Earth, 2026. https://mightyearth.org/article/ceo-note-forest-fires-as-terrorism/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Hurowitz |first1=Glenn |title=CEO Note: Forest Fires as Terrorism |publisher=Mighty Earth |date=22 September 2026 |url=https://mightyearth.org/article/ceo-note-forest-fires-as-terrorism/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{hurowitz2026ceo, author = {Hurowitz, Glenn}, title = {{CEO Note: Forest Fires as Terrorism}}, publisher = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2026}, month = sep, url = {https://mightyearth.org/article/ceo-note-forest-fires-as-terrorism/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }