Author
Ms Savitri Nur Setyorini
Organisation/Institution
Universitas Indonesia, Faculty of Law
Country
INDONESIA
Panel
Environmental Law
Title
Half-Hearted Valuation: A Critique of Environmental Damage Assessment in Indonesian Forest Fire Cases
Abstract
For decades, forest fires in Indonesia have constituted a persistent and recurring environmental challenge. Until the early 2000s, three major periods of large-scale forest fires were recorded: 1982–1983, 1991–1994, and 1997–1998, followed by another significant event in 2004. The most devastating fires occurred in 2015, burning approximately 2.6 million hectares. Although the number of hotspots declined in 2016 and 2017, numerous new hotspots emerged in areas without any prior history of forest fires. In 2019, more than 1.5 million hectares of forest were burned, with South Sumatra Province recording the highest extent of damage. These fires resulted in severe ecological degradation. Consequently, environmental restoration constitutes an essential measure that must be undertaken in response to forest fires, as their impacts are largely irreversible. In this context, the Indonesian government has repeatedly filed lawsuits against entities responsible for business operations or activities, including claims related to environmental restoration. This research finds that significant errors persist in the calculation of environmental damage in Indonesian forest fire cases, including the use of illustrative examples as the basis for valuation, instances of double counting, and the treatment of funds deposited into the state treasury. Furthermore, the study reveals that these inaccuracies originate from shortcomings within the regulatory framework governing environmental valuation. Keywords: valuation, environmental damage, forest fires, environmental restoration
Biography
Savitri Nur Setyorini is a full-time lecturer in the Administrative Law Department, specializing in Environmental and Natural Resources Law as well as Administrative Law. She earned her Bachelor of Laws (S.H.) degree in 2013 from the Faculty of Law, Universitas Indonesia, followed by a Master of Laws (M.H.) degree in 2016 from the same institution. She is currently pursuing her doctoral studies at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Indonesia.
