Enviro News Asia, Northern Sumatra — Indonesia’s Minister of Environment and Head of the Environmental Control Agency (KLH/BPLH), Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, conducts an on-site assessment of the areas impacted by widespread flooding and landslides in North Sumatra on 5 December 2025. Extreme rainfall triggered by Tropical Cyclone Koto–Senyar, reaching 310.8 mm in a single day, causes hydrometeorological disasters across multiple river basins in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
The minister inspects two companies, identified by the initials AR and NSHE, operating within the Batang Toru Watershed (DAS) ecosystem. The oversight aims to determine how construction activities and land-use practices have contributed to mounting environmental pressure in the upstream region. The field inspection follows aerial monitoring that indicates landscape alterations affecting water flow patterns.
Minister Hanif reports that large-scale operations have placed additional strain on the Batang Toru watershed, particularly under conditions of extreme rainfall. He identifies three key contributors to increased flood risk: industrial plantation activities, major hydropower development, and gold-mining operations within the watershed.
KLH/BPLH initiates a combined approach of aerial surveillance and ground verification to confirm locations suspected of increasing runoff. The minister explains that upstream areas dominated by extensive dryland and wetland agriculture also influence soil water-absorption capacity, prompting the need for comprehensive verification across the landscape.
He states that environmental recovery requires an integrated ecosystem-wide perspective and underscores that climate-driven rainfall extremes—now surpassing 250 to 300 mm—must serve as a new baseline for land-use control. KLH/BPLH will review all existing environmental approvals within the Batang Toru watershed accordingly.
The ministry intensifies supervision of land-use activities in flood- and landslide-prone zones, including the two companies inspected during the visit. Officials re-evaluate activities on steep slopes, upstream catchments, and river corridors to ensure compliance with environmental permits and spatial-planning regulations. The minister confirms that enforcement measures will follow if violations are found to exacerbate disaster risks.
Further on-site verification will continue for other companies suspected of contributing significantly to environmental degradation and worsening flood impacts in northern Sumatra. (*)
