TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam) considers the disasters in Sumatra are the result of government policies that seem to legalize damage. This destruction has led to a major disaster that claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people.
Jatam’s Coordinator, Melky Nahar, conveyed this during an online discussion titled “Sumatra’s Catastrophe: Traces of Oligarchy in the Headwaters, Watersheds, and Disaster-Prone Areas” on Friday, January 16, 2026. Melky mentioned that this pattern of destruction is not just a result of negligence, but a consequence of legal policies that actually facilitate destruction.
One of the issues he highlighted is the borrow-and-use permit scheme for forest areas, which he believes has become a legal avenue for companies to open land in protected areas. “This is a form of legally sanctioned state management conducting the destruction of forest areas through the borrow-and-use permit scheme,” said Melky.
He also pointed out the revision of the Mineral and Coal Mining Law that allows mining activities in rivers. “Rivers that were initially not allowed to be mined are now permitted. Once again, the state, through legal means, allows destruction,” he said.
In this condition, according to Melky, the central government has only treated Sumatra as a mere economic resource, rather than a region that needs to be protected from ecological threats.
Melky stated that from the beginning, the central government has never viewed Sumatra as an ecological unit. Instead, the island has been designated as a sacrifice zone for national projects, such as mining, oil palm, and Industrial Timber Plantation (HTI).
“From the start, the government has not looked at Sumatra comprehensively. This island is only seen as a sacrifice zone for national projects by including mining concessions, oil palm, and HTI,” said Melky. He emphasized that these projects directly encroach on the primary living spaces of the people in Sumatra.
According to Melky, nearly all of Sumatra is now affected by the expansion of extractive industries. The community’s production spaces are narrowing due to the influx of large-scale concessions. “It was designed by the government in Jakarta. The central government only treats Sumatra as an economic resource without considering the safety of its citizens,” added Melky.
Melky also stated that even without high rainfall intensity, Sumatra already has the potential for disasters such as landslides, earthquakes, and flash floods. “Areas prone to disasters, river basins, and forest areas should be protected. But they are instead turned into locations for extractive activities,” he emphasized. He cited Aceh as an example, where Jatam believes that many mining companies operate in disaster-prone areas.
Government data cited by Jatam shows that there are 551 permits in the forest areas of Sumatra, covering an area of nearly 2 million hectares. Out of this number, only 282 permits have Forest Area Utilization Permits (PPKH). “The buffer forests are also sacrificed for the benefit of extractive industries,” said Melky.
