JAKARTA: Indonesia will summon eight companies suspected of contributing to deadly flooding in North Sumatra’s Batang Toru watershed as part of efforts to trace the large number of logs swept away by recent floods in Sumatra.
Images of the logs have circulated online, and experts have said deforestation and environmental degradation added to the scale of the disaster.
Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said on Monday (Dec 1) his ministry would summon eight entities operating in the Batang Toru river basin to explain their activities in the area and trace the logs swept away by the floods.
“There are eight entities that, based on our satellite imagery analysis, contributed to worsening the impact of this rainfall. So we are investigating further, and I have asked the Law Enforcement Deputy to take swift and measurable actions,” Hanif Faisol said, as quoted by news outlet Bisnis. The entities were not identified.
“We can see everything from satellite images, allowing us to logically project what happened in those conditions during heavy rainfall,” Hanif Faisol added.
The ministry will also review the environmental approval documents of companies operating in the three affected provinces.
“We will use the conditions of this tropical cyclone as the baseline for rainfall levels,” Hanif Faisol said. “This means all environmental assessments must have capacities that exceed that baseline.”
His team will take the necessary steps to prevent a recurrence of flooding and landslides, reported news agency Antara.
“Whether it’s a suspension of activities or something like that, because this is indeed a disaster. Someone must be held accountable for the incident,” Hanif Faisol said.
Some have urged the ministry to go further. Lawmaker Ratna Juwita Sari called for the permits of all companies that damaged the environment in the Batang Toru watershed to be revoked.
Summoning the companies was no longer an adequate step, said Ratna, a member of Commission VII of Indonesia’s House of Representatives, which oversees energy, mineral resources, research and technology and environmental issues.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/sumatra-senyar-floods-landslides-timber-logging-trace-investigation-deforestation-5522116
