The Batang Toru Landscape is one of the most important landscapes in North Sumatra. It contains high conservation value forests and provides critical habitat for the Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis), one of the world’s rarest primates. The landscape also supports local communities whose livelihoods depend on globally traded commodities such as palm oil, coffee, cocoa, and other local products.
Konservasi Indonesia (KI) has been working in the Batang Toru Landscape for more than two decades to protect and restore high conservation value forests and strengthen the ecological resilience of the landscape. KI promotes a transition towards a high-value and climate-resilient landscape economy through forest protection, agroforestry development, and production intensification based on regenerative agricultural practices. This approach aims to help farming households increase productivity, strengthen resilience, and improve incomes. These efforts are carried out in collaboration with government, supply chain actors, producers, and local communities to support FOLU Net Sink 2030, regional sustainability priorities, corporate supply chain commitments, and the application of international ESG investment standards.
In late November and early December 2025, extreme rainfall triggered floods and landslides across several areas of North Sumatra, including South Tapanuli and Central Tapanuli Regencies. According to BPBD reports cited by ANTARA in early December 2025, thousands of households were affected, with fatalities and large-scale displacement reported across 11 sub-districts, including Batang Toru, Muara Batang Toru, and Angkola Sangkunur.
The impact on ecosystems were also significant. A study published in Current Biology in 2026 estimated that the extreme rainfall in November 2025 resulted in approximately 8,303 ± 1,760 hectares of landslide-affected areas within the Western Block of the Tapanuli orangutan habitat, representing around 11.7% of the forest cover in the block. Spatial analysis further estimated that approximately 11% of the orangutan population in the Western Block, or around 58 individuals, were located in areas affected by landslides and potentially died. These findings highlight the significant impacts that extreme events can have on ecosystems and species with already very small populations.
KI has provided support to affected communities and assisted farmers in restoring their agricultural land. KI has also mapped the impacts of flooding at the village level, particularly in areas where it works. However, there is a need to better understand the impacts of the disaster at the broader landscape level, as the information currently available is not sufficient to answer several key questions for landscape recovery, including:
- What is the extent of damage and loss across forest and non-forest areas, including smallholder and corporate plantations and agricultural land?
- How has the disaster affected household income sources and income levels?
- Which communities and locations have been most affected?
- Which ecosystems can still be utilized, restored, or better managed for ecological functions?
- Which commodities, crops/tree species, and farming systems are most suitable for post-disaster conditions without increasing pressure on forests and critical habitats?
- How can supply chains and markets support ecosystem and livelihood recovery?
- Which stakeholders can contribute to the recovery, and what forms of collaboration are needed?
Therefore, a study is needed to connect three key dimensions: ecological recovery, livelihood recovery, and economic opportunities that are appropriate to the post-disaster landscape context. The study should go beyond assessing damages and losses to identify realistic recovery options, including suitable commodities, crops and tree species, supply chains and markets that can support them, and opportunities for stakeholder engagement and collaboration.
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