ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) North Sumatra has identified seven companies allegedly responsible for triggering the severe ecological disaster currently affecting the Sumatra region.
Since Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at least eight districts and cities in North Sumatra have been hit by flash floods and landslides, with South Tapanuli and Central Tapanuli suffering the most extensive damage.
Tens of thousands of residents have been displaced, thousands of homes destroyed, and vast agricultural areas wiped out. In total, 51 villages across 42 subdistricts have been affected, with the disaster crippling local economies and damaging infrastructure, places of worship, and schools.
The worst impact has occurred in areas within the Harangan Tapanuli Ecosystem—also known as the Batang Toru Ecosystem—which includes South Tapanuli, Central Tapanuli, North Tapanuli, and the city of Sibolga.
Batang Toru Ecosystem: A Rapidly Shrinking Hydrological Lifeline
The Harangan Tapanuli/Batang Toru Ecosystem is one of the last remaining essential tropical forest landscapes in North Sumatra. Administratively, 66.7% of the ecosystem lies in North Tapanuli, 22.6% in South Tapanuli, and 10.7% in Central Tapanuli. As part of the Bukit Barisan mountain range, the forest plays a crucial role in water regulation, flood prevention, erosion control, and supplying downstream river basins.
Seven Companies Implicated in Environmental Damage
“We have identified seven companies as the drivers of ecological degradation due to their extractive activities that have opened and fragmented the Batang Toru forest,” said WALHI North Sumatra Executive Director Rianda Purba in Medan on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.
The companies named are:
1. PT Agincourt Resources – Martabe gold mine
2. PT North Sumatera Hydro Energy (NSHE) – Batang Toru hydropower plant
3. PT Pahae Julu Micro-Hydro Power – Pahae Julu micro-hydro plant
4. PT SOL Geothermal Indonesia – Taput geothermal development
5. PT Toba Pulp Lestari Tbk (TPL) – PKR Unit in South Tapanuli
6. PT Sago Nauli Plantation – Oil palm plantation in Central Tapanuli
7. PTPN III Batang Toru Estate – Oil palm plantation in South Tapanuli
All seven operate within or around the Batang Toru Ecosystem, home to the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, as well as Sumatran tigers, tapirs, and other protected species.
Details of Environmental Damage
1. PT Agincourt Resources
Between 2015 and 2024, this company cleared approximately 300 hectares of forest and land within the Batang Toru watershed. Its Tailing Management Facility (TMF) lies close to the Aek Pahu River, which flows through Sumuran Village. Local residents report increasingly turbid river water during rainy seasons following the operation of the Ramba Joring pit.
2. Batang Toru Hydropower Project (PT NSHE)
The hydropower development has resulted in more than 350 hectares of forest loss along a 13-kilometer stretch of the river and has caused: disruption of river flow, high sedimentation from tunnel excavation waste and dam construction, potential river pollution from toxic excavation materials.
Footage of the Batang Toru River at Trikora Bridge shows large logs being swept downstream, which WALHI suspects originate from hydropower construction zones.
3. PT Toba Pulp Lestari (PKR)
Hundreds to thousands of hectares of forest in the Batang Toru watershed have been converted into eucalyptus-based community timber plantations (PKR), especially in Sipirok, South Tapanuli.
4. PHAT Scheme (Natural Regrowth Timber Utilization)
Forest clearing under the PHAT mechanism is identified as a major trigger of flash floods. Wildlife corridors connecting Dolok Sibualbuali and Batang Toru West Block Protected Forest have been degraded by at least 1,500 hectares in the past three years.
“This Is Not a Natural Disaster”
Rianda emphasized that the flash floods and landslides cannot be attributed solely to extreme rainfall.
“Every flood carries massive logs, and satellite images clearly show deforested areas around the disaster sites. This is evidence of human intervention enabled by policies that allow forest clearing,” he stated.
“This is an ecological disaster caused by the state’s failure to control environmental destruction.”
Special Note on PT Agincourt Resources
According to its Environmental Impact Assessment (AMDAL), PT Agincourt Resources produces 6 million tons of gold ore annually and plans to increase production to 7 million tons by clearing an additional 583 hectares of land for tailings facilities—requiring the removal of 185,884 trees.
WALHI’s investigation shows that around 120 hectares have already been cleared.
The company’s own documents list potential impacts including: altered river flow patterns, increased runoff, decreased water quality, vegetation loss, habitat destruction.
WALHI North Sumatra’s Demands
WALHI North Sumatra asserts that extractive industries have driven deforestation at the expense of communities and the environment. The organization demands that the government:
1. Halt Extractive Industry Activities in the Batang Toru Ecosystem
Including: reviewing and revoking PT Agincourt Resources’ permits, evaluating and halting the NSHE Batang Toru hydropower project, closing and revoking PT Toba Pulp Lestari’s operations, including PKR activities, stopping operations of the other four companies identified.
2. Enforce Firm Legal Action Against Environmental Destroyers
This includes the seven companies linked to forest and land damage in the Batang Toru watershed.
3. Establish Strong Protection Policies for the Batang Toru Ecosystem
Through coordinated spatial planning at district, provincial, and national levels.
4. Ensure the Needs of Disaster Survivors Are Met
And conduct disaster-risk assessments to prevent future incidents.
Statement of Solidarity
“We extend our deepest condolences to the people of North Sumatra affected by this ecological disaster. May survivors receive strength and immediate support. We cannot allow this tragedy to happen again. The state must act and hold violators accountable.”
— Rianda Purba, Executive Director, WALHI North Sumatra.
(AT Network)
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