New Capital Nusantara Faces Threat of Forest Fires

Forest fires (karhutla) raging across various regions of Borneo are casting a shadow over Indonesia's developing new capital city, Nusantara (IKN). Fires have occurred in the IKN area in East Kalimantan, and even within its core zone, raising concerns among residents about health impacts and severe disruptions to daily life. Deden Wahyudi, a resident of Sepaku Lama Village in the IKN area of Penajam Paser Utara Regency, experienced panic in mid-August due to the smoke engulfing the IKN area. His mother suffers from pneumonia, making breathing difficult amid the smoke and dust. "If the smoke gets thicker, what will happen to me?" he told Mongabay in late August. Nuni, another resident of Sepaku Lama, expressed similar concerns. She recently witnessed firsthand the flames burning at night within the concession area of PT ITCI Hutani Manunggal (IHM), which focuses on industrial timber plantations (HTI). This fire zone is also part of the core government center area (KIPP) of IKN. "The fire was there, above (in the IHM concession area). It just happened, not even a week ago," she said on Friday (August 21, 2026). In Balikpapan, a satellite city of IKN, forest fires have also occurred for two consecutive days. A thin haze has begun to blanket the sky, most visible in the morning shortly after sunrise. The sunlight does not disperse, appearing as a reddish circle from a distance. The pungent smell of smoke permeates the air. Emi, a pregnant woman from South Balikpapan, feels threatened by the situation, especially as she has a young child. "I thought it was mist, but it was a bit thick. Then there was the smell of burning smoke, like something charred," she told Mongabay on Sunday (August 30, 2026). Emi, who is five months pregnant, has had to limit her outdoor activities. "The news of forest fires in Kalimantan is truly worrying. There have been incidents here too, but really..." she continued. These forest fires highlight the complex challenges Indonesia faces in balancing the promotion of IKN development with environmental protection. It remains to be seen how the infrastructure development and land-use changes associated with the new capital's construction will interact with existing environmental issues. Source: Mongabay Indonesia