Indonesia: “We drink poisoned water” – paper industry destroys the river of life
Indonesia: The costs of disposable products such as paper and viscose are enormous – rainforests and wildlife are disappearing, the lives of Indigenous peoples are being devastated, and the right to a healthy environment is being violated. Our partner AMAN Tano Batak reports on deforestation, water pollution, and human rights abuses in North Tapanuli by the company Toba Pulp Lestari (video).
On the journey from the world’s largest crater lake, Lake Toba, to the Batang Toru Forest – home to the famous Tapanuli orangutans – you can bathe in hot springs or even in a soda lake, visit the traditional palace of the Batak king Sisingamangaraja XII, or see 17th-century Hindu statues in the village of Hopong. But the most lasting impression comes from the clear-cutting and eucalyptus plantations of the paper industry.
“In the upper reaches of the Aek Nalas River,” reports Maruli Simanjuntak from our partner organization, the Alliance of the Indigenous People in the Land of the Batak (AMAN Tano Batak), “the eucalyptus plantations extend into water protection areas. The Aek Nalas has turned into a muddy, yellow, foul-smelling trickle.”
You can read the illustrated report by Maruli Simanjuntak, “We drink poisoned water – Toba Pulp Lestari destroys the river of life,” here in Indonesian.
Around 30,000 people depend on the water of the Aek Nalas for cooking, washing, and bathing. During the dry season, they go without water for weeks; during the rainy season, they have only murky water. They suffer from skin rashes and other illnesses caused by pesticides from the plantations.
AMAN Tano Batak is monitoring the contamination of the Aek Nalas. The following video (8 minutes, optional English subtitles) shows how environmental destruction in the upper reaches threatens the daily lives of villagers and why urgent action is needed:
Excavators and bulldozers are once again active in the upper reaches of the Aek Nalas. They are destroying the rainforest and even the villagers’ gardens. The pulp company Toba Pulp Lestari claims the land.
Toba Pulp Lestari and APRIL
Toba Pulp Lestari alone holds concessions for 300,000 hectares of forest and plantations in North Sumatra. The company often responds with violence to Indigenous Batak resistance against environmental destruction, poisoning, and land grabbing. Most recently, hundreds of armed men attacked the village of Sihaporas.
Toba Pulp Lestari is affiliated with the pulp and paper corporation APRIL (Asia Pacific Resources International Limited), which is part of the Royal Golden Eagle holding group.
APRIL is one of the world’s largest pulp producers, manufacturing paper, pulp, and viscose in Indonesia, China, and Brazil for the global market.
Toba Pulp Lestari and other companies belonging to the APRIL and APP (Asia Pulp and Paper) groups are primarily responsible for the destruction of Sumatra’s rainforests – as are Indonesia’s economic policies and, not least, the rapidly growing demand for paper, packaging, and viscose – in other words, we consumers.
The destruction of the rainforest and the displacement of Indigenous communities make the industry’s growth possible.
Please sign our petition: Stop APRIL, Indonesia’s ruthless paper and pulp giant!
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Protecting the Tapanuli orangutan forest
From pulp plantations to thriving forests: Villages are reclaiming their ancestral lands and proving that nature heals when Indigenous people lead.
Stop APRIL, Indonesia’s ruthless paper and pulp giant!
The paper giant APRIL/RGE is destroying rainforests and the livelihoods of local communities. We call on banks and investors to end their business ties with APRIL/RGE!
Defending rainforests in Southeast Asia
The forests of Southeast Asia are the last refuge and habitat of orangutans, Sumatran tigers, birds of paradise and Komodo dragons.
The rainforest
A green sea of ferns, mosses, vines and ancient trees. Iridescent butterflies and colorful birds. Flowers in every hue of the rainbow. The “green lung” is a natural wonder of the world. Find out more about the world’s most diverse, fascinating and threatened ecosystem.