How Indonesia is Mobilizing 1,500 Troops to Combat El Niño-Driven Wildfires in Borneo

On August 22, three battalions of the Indonesian National Armed Forces—comprising roughly 1,500 personnel—touched down in Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of Borneo. Their deployment marks a significant escalation in the government's response to a mounting environmental crisis. They join a sprawling network of over 48,000 firefighters and disaster personnel already battling one of the most intense wildfire seasons the archipelago has seen in recent years. The troops were dispatched following an emergency coordination meeting led by President Prabowo Subianto, who visited the hardest-hit areas in Central and West Kalimantan to assess the mitigation efforts firsthand.[2][3]

The scale of the devastation is vast. Between January and July 2026, fires scorched more than 200,000 hectares of land across the country, an area roughly three times the size of the capital city, Jakarta. The blazes have been concentrated in fire-prone provinces such as Riau, Jambi, and South Sumatra on Sumatra island, as well as West, Central, and South Kalimantan on Borneo. The resulting smoke has blanketed cities in a thick, noxious haze, reducing visibility, disrupting air travel, and triggering widespread health warnings for local residents.[2][5]

The current crisis is driven by a potent combination of human activity and an intensifying El Niño weather pattern. El Niño, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon characterized by warming ocean temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific, drastically alters global atmospheric circulation. For Southeast Asia, this typically translates to a significant reduction in rainfall and a prolonged, severe dry season. The Indonesian meteorological agency warned that the 2026 dry season would be more intense than usual, creating a landscape primed for combustion.[1][5]

While the arid conditions set the stage, the ignition source is overwhelmingly human. Plantation owners and traditional farmers frequently utilize slash-and-burn techniques to clear land for agriculture, particularly for lucrative palm oil and pulpwood plantations. Mohammad Irhamni, director of special crimes at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency, noted that burning is often chosen because it remains the most cost-effective method of land clearing, despite strict environmental protection laws forbidding the practice.[1][4]

The fires are particularly devastating—and difficult to fight—because a significant portion of them occur on tropical peatlands. Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation and organic matter that has built up over thousands of years in waterlogged environments. In its natural state, a peat swamp is highly fire-resistant. However, when these swamps are drained via canals to create dry land for agricultural plantations, the exposed peat becomes highly flammable.[5][6]

Unlike typical surface wildfires that burn through trees and brush, peat fires can burn deep underground. They smolder slowly through the carbon-rich soil, sometimes for months on end, making them notoriously difficult to extinguish with conventional firefighting methods. A fire that appears to be put out on the surface may still contain active embers underneath, ready to reignite when the wind shifts. Furthermore, smoldering peat produces a disproportionate amount of thick, toxic smoke compared to surface fires, which is the primary source of the region's choking haze.[4][6]

To combat the subterranean blazes, the Indonesian government has mobilized a multi-pronged operational strategy. The newly deployed military personnel are tasked with accelerating ground firefighting efforts, navigating difficult terrain to reach inaccessible hotspots. They are supported by a fleet of heavy-lift helicopters conducting continuous water-bombing operations over the most critical areas. The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has prioritized these aerial assaults in regions where deep peat soil and limited local water supplies have severely hampered ground crews.[3][5]

Beyond direct water application, authorities are heavily relying on weather modification techniques. Cloud-seeding operations are being intensified across the affected provinces. This process involves aircraft dispersing salt particles—typically sodium chloride—into suitable cloud formations to encourage condensation and induce rainfall. The BNPB is closely coordinating these flights with meteorological forecasts, aiming to trigger enough precipitation to thoroughly rewet the smoldering peatlands and fully suppress the underground embers.[3][5]

Parallel to the physical firefighting, the Indonesian government has launched a sweeping law enforcement crackdown aimed at the root cause of the ignitions. Indonesian police have arrested 72 individuals suspected of deliberately starting fires across Sumatra and Borneo. The arson suspects are currently being investigated in connection with 89 specific forest and land fire cases. The charges carry severe penalties, ranging from hefty financial fines to prison terms of up to 15 years under the country's environmental protection statutes.[1][4]

The investigation is actively expanding beyond individual farmers to target corporate accountability. Authorities are tracing financial records to determine whether larger agricultural companies financed or ordered the illegal land clearing. Prasetyo Hadi, the head of the State Secretariat, confirmed that at least four corporations in West Kalimantan are currently under formal investigation. If proven to have intentionally utilized fire for land clearing, these companies face severe administrative sanctions, including the permanent revocation of their operating permits.[4]

The stakes of the operation extend far beyond Indonesia's domestic borders. The dense smoke generated by the peat fires has drifted across the border into neighboring Malaysia and Brunei. In the Malaysian state of Sarawak, located on the northern coast of Borneo, the air pollution index recently spiked to "very unhealthy" levels. The deteriorating air quality forced the local government to close nearly 600 schools, affecting approximately 200,000 students, and prompted widespread advisories for residents to remain indoors.[6]

This transboundary haze is a recurring diplomatic flashpoint within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). While the region has established frameworks for monitoring and addressing the haze, the annual recurrence of the fires frequently tests diplomatic relations and regional cooperation on environmental enforcement. As the dry season approaches its historical peak in September, the success of Indonesia's combined military, meteorological, and legal interventions will be critical in determining the ultimate severity of the 2026 crisis.[1][6]