The Urgency of Curbing Deforestation and Restoring Sumatra's Forests

Deforestation or the conversion of forest land to non-forest purposes poses a threat to the preservation of nature in Sumatra Island. Statistics from the Ministry of Forestry for 2025 indicate that the net deforestation occurring in Sumatra's forests in 2024 reached 78,030.6 hectares. Net deforestation is the figure obtained from deforestation minus the results of reforestation or efforts to restore forest land.

Throughout 2024, the total deforestation rate in Indonesia reached 175,437.7 hectares. Looking at this data, at least 44 percent of deforestation in Indonesia occurs in the forests of Sumatra. The forests in the provinces of Riau, Aceh, Jambi, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra are the areas with the highest deforestation rates in Sumatra. Deforestation in Riau in 2024 reached 29,702.1 hectares, followed by Aceh (11,208.5 hectares), Jambi (8,290.6 hectares), North Sumatra (7,034.9 hectares), and West Sumatra (6,634.2 hectares).

Not only is it the highest in Sumatra, but the net deforestation occurring in Riau is also the largest in Indonesia. The deforestation figure in Riau exceeds that of the forests in East Kalimantan (19,206.8 hectares) and Central Kalimantan (16,054.3 hectares).

Deforestation in Sumatra has also shown an upward trend since 2020. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) indicates that the deforestation figures inside and outside the forest areas of Sumatra increased compared to the period of 2020-2021, which reached 41,668.8 hectares, and the period of 2021-2022 (39,899.9 hectares). This condition indicates an increase in deforestation in Sumatra by 36,361 hectares compared to four years ago.

The record of deforestation in the forests of Sumatra is also evident from the Wahana Lingkungan Hidup organization, or Walhi. Through its press release (2/12/2025), Walhi noted that deforestation in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra has reached 1.4 million hectares since 2016. The changes in the natural ecosystem landscape, including forests, are due to the activities of 631 companies holding mining permits, palm oil business rights, forest utilization business licenses (PBPH), geothermal, and power generation companies.

In North Sumatra, for instance, Walhi has indicated that the Batang Toru ecosystem in the Bukit Barisan area has experienced deforestation of 72,938 hectares from 2016 to 2024. In Aceh, some river basin areas have seen a decrease in land cover. The Krueng Trumon river basin, for example, experienced a reduction in land cover from initially 53,824 hectares in 2026 to 30,568 hectares in 2022.

The reduction in forest area and land cover poses a disaster threat to the Sumatra region. This is closely related to the vulnerability of Sumatra to natural disasters. The publication of the Indonesia Disaster Risk Index 2024, prepared by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), shows that the Sumatra region has a moderate to high disaster risk level.

In Aceh, the risk level of disasters is categorized as high. There are 12 districts with a high risk of disasters, including Aceh Besar, Aceh Singkil, Aceh Selatan, Aceh Utara, Aceh Timur, and Pidie. According to disaster data for 2024, the most frequent occurrences in Aceh are floods, extreme weather, and forest and land fires.

Disaster potential also exists in North Sumatra and West Sumatra. However, in these two regions, the level of disaster risk is at a moderate level. Nevertheless, several districts/cities in North Sumatra and West Sumatra have a high disaster risk index. In North Sumatra, there are 12 districts/cities with high disaster potential. These areas include Mandailing Natal, Gunung Sitoli City, Central Tapanuli, Sibolga City, North Labuhanbatu, Labuhanbatu, Padang Lawas, and Asahan.

In West Sumatra, there are eight regions that have a high disaster risk level, such as Agam, Pasaman, West Pasaman, Padang City, Pariaman City, Padang Pariaman, and South Pesisir. The disasters that frequently occur in North Sumatra and West Sumatra include floods, landslides, as well as forest and land fires.

The vulnerability of disaster-prone areas in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra is reflected in the history of past disaster events. In November 2000, a major flood occurred in three cities in Aceh, namely Banda Aceh, Lhokseumawe, and Sigli, due to heavy rainfall lasting for three days. As a result, activities in these three cities came to a complete standstill. Flash floods or galodo also occurred in several areas in West Sumatra and South Tapanuli. At least 74 people lost their lives in West Sumatra and 11 others in South Tapanuli.

In North Sumatra, a major flood caused by the overflowing of the Bohorok River occurred in November 2003. The flash flood affected the natural tourism area of Bukit Lawang in Langkat Regency, resulting in the deaths of 100 people swept away by the flood and at least 140 others missing.

Floods and landslides also occurred in December 2006 in Aceh and North Sumatra. In Mandailing Natal, floods and landslides resulted in 17 fatalities and 24 others missing. In Langkat, floods caused 12 deaths and five others missing. At least 50,000 people were forced to evacuate. Meanwhile, significant flooding in Aceh occurred in North Aceh, Aceh Tamiang, East Aceh, Bener Meriah, Bireuen, and Gayo Lues. Data from the Crisis Center of the Ministry of Health recorded 58 deaths due to the floods.

Disaster occurrence data also indicates the vulnerability of the regions of Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra to floods and landslides. The Aceh Disaster Management Agency, for instance, reported that from 2021 to 2023, there were 337 flood incidents, 104 landslides, and 13 flash floods. These disasters continue to affect the people of Aceh up to January-May 2025, with 31 flood events and 19 landslides recorded.

Recently, a major flood has struck Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra since November 25, 2025. Data from the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) as of Wednesday (3/12/2025) at 08:00 WIB indicates that the death toll from the disaster has reached 753 people, with 650 others reported missing. The number of evacuees is at least 449,600 in Aceh, while in North Sumatra there are 527,300 evacuees and in West Sumatra, 137,400. The disaster has also resulted in thousands of damaged homes, as well as damage to educational facilities (323 units), health facilities (9 units), places of worship (129 units), and connecting bridges between regions (299 units).

Forests and the trees within them play a crucial role in the natural ecosystem. Forests function to absorb rainwater, protect soil from erosion, provide groundwater, serve as habitats for biodiversity, produce oxygen, and absorb carbon. Forests also serve as a source of economic and socio-cultural benefits for local communities.

The reduction in forest area and land cover can affect nature's ability to absorb water, which can trigger disasters and lead to a shortage of groundwater reserves. The State of the World's Forests (SOFO) 2024 report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicates that there are still several challenges in maintaining the sustainability of the world's forests, including ongoing deforestation.

According to FAO, from 2015 to 2020, deforestation worldwide reached 10 million hectares per year. Forest loss is dominated by countries with extensive forests, such as Brazil, Australia, and Indonesia. Although there are signs of a declining trend, deforestation still poses a threat to the sustainability of forests globally, considering the high demand for timber, which reaches 4 billion cubic meters. In addition to deforestation, other significant pressures threatening forest sustainability come from increasingly frequent forest and land fires, which are occurring alongside rising global temperatures.

In its campaign, "Innovation in the Forestry Sector Towards a More Sustainable Future," FAO invites countries around the world to innovate in forest conservation and land restoration. This innovation includes the use of technologies such as satellites and artificial intelligence.

The 2024 State of the World's Forests (SOFO) report highlights a number of innovations undertaken by countries worldwide to protect and restore forests. One example is the use of digital technology to monitor forest management. This technology allows tracking timber throughout the supply chain (timber tracking) to ensure its legality and utilization. There is also the development of land restoration systems through agroforestry, a land management system in which timber crops are integrated with agricultural crops.

Two countries that are considered to have made progress in expanding forest cover and restoring critical land are China and India. China's efforts involve large-scale tree planting and reforesting critical areas such as damaged grasslands and rocky terrains. In 2024, China greened 4.4 million hectares of land. Meanwhile, India is innovating through agroforestry systems.

China has become the country with the highest increase in forest cover in the world from 2010 to 2020, reaching 1.93 million hectares per year. Meanwhile, India has managed to increase its forest cover by 266,000 hectares per year.

Indonesia is also continuously striving for the reforestation of forested areas. According to data from the Ministry of Forestry, the Indonesian government has rehabilitated a total of 217,974.42 hectares of forest and land in 2024. Specifically, the forest rehabilitation covers an area of 56,221.76 hectares. In Aceh, forest rehabilitation reached 250 hectares, while in North Sumatra it was 723 hectares, and in West Sumatra, it was 725 hectares.

The achievements in reforestation efforts still need to be improved considering that the threat of deforestation rates remains greater than land recovery. Not only the quantity of trees, but reforestation efforts should also be carried out with attention to ecosystem quality and local community participation to preserve forests amid the high potential for natural disasters in the Sumatra region. (LITBANG KOMPAS)