Construction of dam in Batang Toru forest stopped

Three companies in the upper reaches of the Batang Toru River must halt their operations with immediate effect. Indonesia’s Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq ordered this on December 6. A new decision will be taken after a review.

After Cyclone Senyar, which also hit the Tapanuli region hard, the minister flew over the Batang Toru forest by helicopter. “It is apparent that massive forest clearance is taking place,” the ministry said afterward. This led to an avalanche of tree trunks and severe erosion. 

The following three companies are responsible for the clear-cutting in the upper reaches of the Batang Toru River that has increased the risk of landslides and flooding:

PT North Sumatera Hydro Energy (NSHE) is building the Batang Toru hydropower plant. Along 13 kilometers of the river, around 350 hectares of rainforest have already been destroyed for the dam and power plant.

Eight years of campaigning, our petition “Stop bulldozing the Tapanuli orangutan!” with more than 400,000 supporters, and countless protests by residents, scientists and international environmentalists have delayed construction but not stopped it. As of December 2025, the first stage is almost complete. In early 2026, one unit of the power plant with 127.5 MW (out of a total of 510 MW) is scheduled to go online, only four years later than planned.

PT Agincourt Resources operates the Martabe gold mine south of the Batang Toru forest. Its 130,252-hectare concession overlaps with the Batang Toru ecosystem and with protected forest in North Tapanuli. The company has already clear-cut more than 700 hectares of forest. 

Even before the cyclone, there had already been landslides with fatal consequences. Despite this, the mine is to be expanded and a tailings pond for the toxic mine waste is planned. Environmental groups have been calling for its closure for two years. PT Agincourt Resources is part of the Astra Group, Southeast Asia’s largest car dealer, which sells brands including Peugeot and BMW.

PT Perkebunan Nusantara III (PTPN III), a state-owned company, operates an oil palm plantation in South Tapanuli in the upper reaches of the Batang Toru and is clearing the forest.

For years, environmental organizations such as Rainforest Rescue and our Indonesian partner WALHI North Sumatra have been warning about the consequences of the destruction of the Batang Toru ecosystem, habitat of the rare Tapanuli orangutans and Sumatran tigers. WALHI names seven companies as the main culprits, including the construction company for the NSHE dam, the operators of the Martabe gold mine directly on the river, as well as oil palm plantations and new eucalyptus plantations for the pulp company Toba Pulp Lestari.

In a phone call on December 7, 2025, Rianda Purba said that there had been 921 fatalities in the three provinces affected by Cyclone Senyar. A further 329 people were still missing and 5,000 had been injured. Over the past eight years, he said, Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra have lost a total of 1.4 million hectares of rainforest:

Nature is being exploited through state-sanctioned destruction of the forests.”

Further information

Rainforest Rescue, December 4, 2025: Cyclone and deforestation: twin disasters

1. PT Agincourt Resources – Martabe gold mine

   PT North Sumatera Hydro Energy (NSHE) – Batang Toru hydropower plant

   PT Pahae Julu Micro-Hydro Power – micro hydropower plant

   PT SOL Geothermal Indonesia – Taput geothermal power plant

   PT Toba Pulp Lestari Tbk (TPL) – eucalyptus plantations in South Tapanuli 

   PT Sago Nauli Plantation – oil palm plantation in South Tapanuli 

   PTPN III Batang Toru Estate – state-owned oil palm plantation in South Tapanuli