Sumatra Forest Deforestation: Government failure in the environment management of Sumatra

The disappearance of the forest in Sumatra is not the result of an ecological disaster. The disaster was an accumulation of government policy, bureaucratic practice, and state accountability in managing such resources. For a decade (1994-2024), based on Analysis Team Data Compass Journalism reveals, the disappearance of forests in Aceh, Northern Sumatra, and the average of 36.305 acres per year. If we convert it per day, we find the number of 99.46 acres missing per day. This number is equivalent to the disappearance of 139 football fields a day. As for the size of a football field, it's 7.140 square meters, according to FIFA standards. 2024 reduced to 8.26 million acres. The maximum forest breach is in Sumut, which is 50,404 acres. As for the deforestation of the forest at Abah 379,309 acres and Sumbar 354,651 acres. Sumatra Island became the center of forest deforestation due to the expansion of palm fields, mining areas, and industrial plant forests.

Flood and landslide hit three provinces on Sumatra Island, which is Aceh, northern Sumatra, and Western Sumatra, in late November 2025. This disaster was not only triggered by a Sellard Cyclone phenomenon that led to a very heavy and unusual rain, but by human nature. The flood and the avalanche carrying the log didn't come from the clouds, it was due to the massive forest of humans. This is the most real consequence of deformity. This disaster also shows that the poor environmental management and political decisions are only in the business of a group of people causing harm to society especially during the climate crisis of Indonesia. Chester HartA threat of natural disasters such as storms, earthquakes, or tsunamis become catastrophic only if society is not protected. Thousands of lives died and hundreds of people went missing not just because of weather, but because of political and environmental decisions that put citizens in danger.

In the governance framework, bureaucratic reform should produce professional, transparent bureaucracy, and responsible for public interest, including environmental protection. However, reality in the field shows a gap between reform and bureaucratic practice. The state is present through regulation and institutions, but less in scrutiny and accountability when the forest continues to decrease its capacity. The bureaucratic reform in Indonesia is basically aimed at increasing state apparatus performance through institutional justification, simplification of procedure, and accountability. In the forest sector, this reform is expected to improve the licensing system, suppress the corruption practices of natural resources, and reduce conflict between government, corporations and communities. However, in its establishment, bureaucratic reform often stops at administrative and symbolic changes, such as drafting standard operational procedures, digitization of services, and performance reporting. That change has not yet been followed by a real step that truly protects the forest and keeps the ecosystem sustainable. In fact, public policy should be designed to create a more fair, safe and prosperous social life. In public administration view, policy is not just a bureaucratic tool or a formality of reform program, but a means of improving the quality of society (Nugroho, 2023).

Kegagalan kebijakan lingkungan di Sumatra menunjukkan lemahnya nilai etika dalam praktik administrasi publik. Banyak keputusan diambil dengan mengutamakan keuntungan ekonomi jangka pendek atau kepentingan korporasi besar, tanpa mempertimbangkan dampak jangka panjang bagi masyarakat dan lingkungan. Dalam berbagai kasus, pemerintah daerah dan aparatur sipil negara yang memiliki kewenangan justru memperparah kondisi tersebut karena lemahnya pengawasan, adanya konflik kepentingan, serta potensi korupsi dalam proses pengambilan keputusan (Nugroho, 2023). Ketika izin pembukaan hutan diberikan tanpa kajian risiko yang memadai, pemerintah pada dasarnya telah melalaikan tanggung jawab moral untuk melindungi warganya.

Sebagian besar deforestasi di Indonesia terjadi karena tata kelola pemerintahan dan penegakan hukum yang lemah. Bahkan, kawasan hutan yang seharusnya dilindungi oleh negara pun mengalami pembalakan dan pembukaan hutan secara ilegal tanpa tindakan tegas dari pemerintah, sehingga kerusakan hutan terus berlanjut. Ketika masyarakat sipil mengkritik kondisi ini, pemerintah justru cenderung melemahkan aturan terkait penggunaan lahan, bukan menegakkan aturan yang sudah ada. Akibatnya, perusahaan dan pihak-pihak yang memiliki kekuatan ekonomi dan politik tetap tidak tersentuh hukum dan terus melakukan praktik yang merusak lingkungan, meskipun bertentangan dengan peraturan.

Dengan ketidaktegasan pemerintah dalam mengambil kebijakan, lemahnya pengawasan dan akuntabilitas kinerja, deforestasi hutan di Sumatera mencerminkan kegagalan tata kelola pemerintahan dibidang lingkungan. Persoalan ini tidak dapat diselesaikan hanya melalui pendekatan teknis atau sektoral, melainkan melalui kajian ulang reformasi birokrasi sebagai upaya membangun birokrasi yang bertanggung jawab secara ekologis. Akuntabilitas kinerja perlu diperluas hingga mencakup dampak kebijakan terhadap lingkungan hidup agar negara benar-benar menjalankan amanah konstitusionalnya dalam mengelola sumber daya alam demi memberikan manfaat sebesar-besarnya kepada rakyat.

Reference
1. https://www.kompas.id/artikel/hutan-sumatera-lenyap
2. https://items.ssrc.org/understanding-katrina/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-natural-disaster/
3. https://ejournal.seaninstitute.or.id/index.php/esaprom/article/view/2248/1947
4. https://eyesontheforest.or.id/backgrounders/lack-of-governance?utm
5. https://www.instagram.com/p/DR6vLXeE27y/?img_index=2&igsh=dXpsN3Z6ODZ2d3ox
6. https://www.kompasiana.com/vaneshasriwedhari0860/69372808ed6415374052f0c3/kegagalan-etika-kebijakan-krisis-deforestasi-di-pulau-sumatera
7. Nugroho, R. (2023). Public Policy 7: Dinamika kebijakan publik, analisis kebijakan publik, manajemen politik kebijakan publik, etika kebijakan politik. Elex Media Komputindo.

Author: Mauldya Maghfiro, S.SI, M.Stat. (Indonesian CPDS researcher)