Environment Minister: Sumatra Disaster Not Solely Caused by Nature, Several Corporations Will Be Investigated

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Ministry of Environment will investigate several industries suspected of contributing to the occurrences of flooding and landslides in Sumatra. The significant reduction in forest cover due to extractive activities is considered to exacerbate the impacts of extreme rainfall in the region.

Minister of Environment Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, during a Working Meeting with Commission XII of the Indonesian House of Representatives in Jakarta on Wednesday (3/12/2025), stated that legal actions and approaches will be taken against several parties contributing to environmental damage in the flooding and landslides in Sumatra. An evaluation of environmental permits in the Batang Toru area will also be conducted, particularly concerning the available environmental capacity.

"On Monday, all company leaders who are indicated, based on satellite imagery studies, to have contributed to the logs present in the flood will be invited for clarification at the Deputy for Law Enforcement. After that, we will promptly initiate investigation steps," he said.

Hanif stated that the Batang Toru river basin has characteristics that make it very vulnerable, with a "V"-shaped landscape. Due to these characteristics, the environmental carrying capacity and load capacity in the hilly areas are no longer adequate. Therefore, during extreme rainfall, the risk of flooding and landslides is unavoidable.

All parties who cause additional damage in this case must be held legally responsible.

He explained that the reduction of forest cover in the Batang Toru watershed from 1990 to 2024 reached approximately 19,000 hectares. During the same period, the reduction of forest cover in Aceh Province was around 14,000 hectares, and the reduction in West Sumatra Province was 10,521 hectares.

"Regarding the disasters occurring in North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh, we must not solely blame nature. These disaster events are not solely caused by natural factors. In this situation, all parties responsible for contributing to the increased damage in this case must be held legally accountable," said Hanif.

Several efforts will be made in handling the disaster in Sumatra. These efforts include strengthening supervision and law enforcement in land use, aligning regional spatial planning with the carrying capacity of watersheds, controlling permits in critical priority areas, ecosystem rehabilitation, and integrating climate action mitigation into spatial planning.

Hanif stated that mitigation efforts will also be strengthened in other regions of Indonesia. All parties are urged to adhere to the environmental carrying capacity and support in regional planning. This step is part of the mitigation of potential disasters related to the climate crisis.

"For example, in West Java, there has been a loss of protected areas amounting to 1.2 million hectares, leaving only about 400,000 hectares of protected areas that safeguard the underlying ecosystem. This condition makes the region highly vulnerable to disasters," he said.

According to him, climate mitigation and adaptation measures are absolutely necessary, especially in areas that are indicated to have a high level of vulnerability. The risk of hydrometeorological disasters is increasing due to the impacts of climate change, which can be exacerbated by landscape degradation in several regions of Indonesia.

The Executive Director of Walhi Aceh, Ahmad Solihin, stated in a press release that the flooding occurring in Sumatra sends a message that nature can no longer bear the burden of damage imposed by humans. The disaster this time is not merely a natural phenomenon, but an ecological disaster resulting from weak government policies.

"This disaster is not only a natural phenomenon but also an ecological disaster produced by government policies that are neglectful, permissive, and facilitate the destruction of the living space of the community through extractive investments that are greedy for space," he stated.

This was also conveyed by a representative from Walhi West Sumatra, Andre Bustamar. According to him, the causes of disasters in West Sumatra are the result of the accumulation of environmental crises due to the government's failure to manage natural resources.

"Deforestation, illegal gold mining, and weak law enforcement are the reasons why West Sumatra continues to be plagued by ecological disasters. The phenomenon of tree stumps being carried away by river currents indicates the presence of logging activities in the upstream areas of the watershed," he said.

He added that this disaster reinforces the suspicion that forest exploitation practices are still ongoing. These practices are also a direct cause of the increased risk of ecological disasters.

The government should be responsible for protecting the community from disaster risks. Ecological disasters will continue to expand and occur more frequently if climate policies remain weak as they are currently.