The communities surrounding the Batang Toru forest depend on this humid, tropical forest and the high levels of rainfall it produces as their main water source and buffer against flooding and erosion. This forest is part of the Barisan mountain range in Sumatra that is increasingly vital for the role it plays in storing carbon dioxide and mitigating the effects of climate change.
Most of the Batang Toru forest is currently allocated as production forest. One inactive logging concession has a license to operate in part of this rugged forest. Illegally encroachment is still ongoing by immigrant settlers from Nias and illegal logging is occurring in some areas. Hunting for food and trade threatens the endangered wildlife. An expanding open pit gold mining operation particularly threatens future existence of the Batang Toru forest.
YEL – PanEco has been working towards protection of the Batang Toru forest since 2006. Currently only about a fifth of the forest is designated as protected, leaving the rest open for logging and other exploitation. We are trying to ensure that most remaining primary rainforest in the area will be given protection status and properly managed, for the benefits of the communities, the region’s climate, and to ensure the survival of orangutans and other threatened species. North Sumatra’s governor has agreed that most of this forest must be designated as a protected area, as have local Tapanuli Governments. This proposal is awaiting approval by the Ministry of Forestry in Jakarta.
The Batang Toru forest could be a source of sustainable revenue for the Batak communities and local governments – if it is left intact. Placing a dollar value on the water it supplies, its role in regulating climate, pollination and other ecosystem services would total about US$3,735 per hectare for a 30-year period, according to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). This is at least the same profit as planting palm oil trees and offers far more long-term benefits, including preserving habitat for hundreds if not thousands of rare and threatened species.