Hotter than the Fire: Analysis of Indonesia's Forest and Peatland Fire Policy Contention, 2015–2024

The catastrophic forest and peatland fires of 2015 served as a critical juncture for Indonesia, catalyzing an unprecedented wave of policy reforms aimed at fire prevention and ecosystem restoration. Despite this, major fire events recurred in 2019 and 2023, exposing a persistent gap between policy ambition and on-the-ground reality. This article investigates the underlying reasons for this continued policy failure. This study employs a qualitative, interpretive approach, drawing on 25 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders across government, the corporate sector, civil society, and local communities conducted between 2023 and 2024. The analysis reveals that Indonesia's fire crisis is not merely a technical or enforcement problem but a political one, rooted in deep-seated policy contention. This contention is driven by the clash of four powerful, competing institutional logics: state-led developmentalism, corporate profit-seeking, community livelihood security, and transnational environmental conservation. These conflicting logics create policy incoherence, paralyze effective governance, and enable powerful actors to subvert conservation-oriented regulations. Technical solutions such as reforestation and peatland rewetting are insufficient without addressing the structural political-economic conflicts that fuel the fires. Meaningful progress requires enhancing policy coherence, reforming corporate accountability mechanisms, and empowering local communities.