The Forestry Minister has requested assistance from the National Police Chief in investigating the origin of the logs found in the Sumatra floods.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni has requested assistance from the Chief of Police General Listyo Sigit Prabowo to trace the origin of the logs that were swept away in the floods occurring in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. The wood is suspected to be one of the contributing factors to the damage to infrastructure and the loss of lives.

Raja Juli Antoni visited the National Police Headquarters and met with Sigit on Thursday (4/12/2025) evening. The meeting discussed the logs that were swept away by the flood and are suspected to be one of the factors contributing to the damage to infrastructure and loss of life in Sumatra.

"We ask the National Police Chief for help in protecting our forests. We hope that the public concern that has emerged in the past few days after the flood will be addressed, namely the public's curiosity about the origin of the wood material carried by the flood," said Raja.

According to Raja, at present, his team has initial data regarding the conditions of areas affected by the disaster, which has been collected based on drone surveillance. On the other hand, Raja stated that there is now technology available to identify the anatomy of wood called Aiko. With this, Raja hopes to be able to identify the origins of the logs carried by water.

I request that the team also promptly take action from upstream to downstream, particularly in locations where we have identified potential issues that need to be addressed due to suspected violations.

Based on this, said Raja, his party will cooperate with the National Police to promptly uncover the origin of the wood. If criminal elements are found in the future, then his party supports the enforcement of the law.

According to the King, to date, teams from the Ministry of Forestry and the police have been deployed to the two river basins, namely Garuga and Agoli, located in Batang Toru, South Tapanuli, North Sumatra. Currently, they are still in the identification stage of the legal subjects that may be involved.

However, the Ministry of Forestry cannot yet confirm whether the wood originated from illegal logging or from clearing land for oil palm plantations, where the wood was piled up and washed away during the flood. What is clear is that the Ministry has taken wood samples for anatomical identification.

"If it is cut down neatly, it means approximately where. So, there are initial indications that are not conclusive. We will later convey this to the public," said Raja.

On that occasion, Sigit stated that the discovery of the allegedly illegal timber has garnered the President's attention. Therefore, the National Police, in collaboration with the Ministry of Forestry, agreed to establish a Joint Task Force to conduct a thorough investigation.

"We welcome and will cooperate with the Minister of Forestry and the team to form a Joint Task Force to investigate the findings of timber that are suspected to have caused damage, damaged bridges, affected houses, and even resulted in casualties," said Sigit.

The first step taken, said Sigit, is to jointly delve into the matter within the combined team. Currently, the police have deployed a team to join the team from the Ministry of Forestry, which had been dispatched earlier. Sigit did not rule out the possibility of including the Forest and Mining Area Enforcement Task Force in the future to expedite the process.

"I request that the team also immediately take action from upstream to downstream, especially in locations where we have identified potential issues that need to be followed up on due to suspected violations," said Sigit.

According to Sigit, the team has already obtained various types of wood. Among the wood, the team found chainsaw marks. Sigit assured that he would conduct a comprehensive investigation into the findings, and the results would be released to the public soon.

"That's all we can say for now. We'll ensure the team's work moves quickly," said Sigit.

Separately, several civil society groups, through a written statement, declared that the flooding disaster that occurred is an emergency signal regarding the increasingly severe agrarian and ecological crisis. The civil society groups include the Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA), the Indonesian People's Struggle Agency (BPRPI), the People's Women Waiting (PARAP), the Community Study and Development Group (KSPPM), the Aceh Farmers Union (Setia), the Indonesian Bamboo Cluster Foundation (YRBI), and the People's Organizing Union (SPR).

According to them, state organizers are considered the parties most responsible for the practice of distributing permits and concessions for plantations, mining, and forestry. In fact, what should be done is to address the long-standing agrarian and ecological crisis.

Citing data from KSPPM, which conducted an analysis of changes in forest cover in South Tapanuli and Central Tapanuli from 1990 to 2024, it shows a significant decline in natural forest cover. In South Tapanuli, over the last three decades, the region has lost 46,640 hectares of natural forest. The largest loss occurred during the period from 1990 to 2000, amounting to 26,223 hectares, and continued from 2000 to 2010 with a loss of 10,672 hectares.

A similar situation occurred in Central Tapanuli. From 1990 to 2024, the region lost approximately 16,137 hectares of natural forest.

"We remind the government to promptly conduct an evaluation and a moratorium on permits and concessions that have monopolized the indigenous territories and forests in Indonesia, particularly in the three provinces," as quoted from the written statement.