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Environmentalists consider suing govt over South Kalimantan flood
The lawsuit will challenge the Indonesian government's narrative on the cause of massive flooding in South Kalimantan.
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An aerial photo of the Hantakan River in Alat village, Hulu Sungai Tengah regency, South Kalimantan on Jan. 20, 2021. The region was hit by massive flooding following days of heavy rainfall. (Antara/Muhammad Nova)
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coalition of civil groups is mulling over a plan to file a lawsuit against the government, demanding the latter take responsibility for environmental damage that led to widespread flooding in South Kalimantan recently.
Days of heavy rainfall that began in early January triggered massive flooding in the province, inundating all but two regencies. The floods killed at least 21 people and forced more than 110,000 others to flee their homes.
While environmentalists pointed fingers at deforestation and tree cover loss as the root of the disaster, the government downplayed the role of such damage, saying the flooding was primarily caused by a weather anomaly. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said the intensity of rainfall had surpassed the capacity of the Barito River, the largest river in the province.
Members of the Bersihkan Indonesia Coalition (Cleaning Indonesia Coalition) said they were considering a lawsuit as flooding had become a common occurrence due to heavy extractive industries in the province.
“One of our options is a class action lawsuit. We are also considering other legal measures,” said Ahmad Ashov Birry, the program director of environment group Trend Asia and members of the coalition.
He added that environmentalists had warned the government many times not to allow extractive industry to expand in the province. Instead, the authorities kept letting new coal mines operate, which damaged the forests, Ahmad went on to say.
Read also: Indonesian government denies deforestation link to Kalimantan floods
