Inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. The Ministry of Forestry is examining 12 legal entities in North Sumatra’s Tapanuli region suspected of contributing to upstream forest degradation that worsened recent floods. 

A joint law enforcement investigative team has begun gathering evidence and questioning corporate and individual landholders allegedly linked to illicit clearing in the Batang Toru and Sibuluan watersheds, as reported by antaranews.com.

“We see a clear pattern: where illegal forest damage occurs upstream, disaster risks downstream rise sharply,” Law Enforcement Director General Dwi Januanto Nugroho said on Saturday (6/12/2025), adding that misuse of land-rights permits had allegedly become a cover for illegal logging encroaching into state forest areas.

Field verification indicates that extreme rainfall combined with degraded slopes reduced water absorption, accelerating surface runoff and triggering floods and landslides. Enforcement teams have sealed five suspected sites and seized four trucks carrying undocumented timber. 

All 12 legal entities are scheduled for questioning on 9 December as investigations continue, including a criminal forestry probe into one land-rights holder.

(mg/inp/pr/rs)