Warga Aceh Timur Hadapi Banjir Berulang, Hutan Lindung Runtuh

In the last two years, Aceh has faced repeated flash floods, landslides, and tropical cyclones that damaged homes, disrupted farming, and cut off transportation in districts such as Aceh Timur, Aceh Tengah, Gayo Lues, Pidie, Aceh Utara, and Subulussalam. Monitoring data shows forest cover loss in 2025 reached tens of thousands of hectares, a sharp rise from previous years, weakening the watershed’s ability to absorb rain.

Environmental experts warn that the loss of upstream forest reduces water infiltration, causing rivers to swell faster and slopes to fail more easily. This degradation, combined with weak spatial planning and unchecked mining or plantation permits, turns extreme weather into humanitarian crises that increase poverty, interrupt education and health services, and heighten social tension.

Penyebab dan Dampak Terukur

• Forest loss in Aceh 2025: >30,000 ha
• Increase in flood incidents: ≈40 % year‑on‑year
• Households affected by landslides in 2025‑2026: >12,000 families
• Agricultural land rendered unusable: ≈8,000 ha of rice fields and plantations
• Estimated economic loss from 2025‑2026 disasters: IDR 2.5 trillion

Rekomendasi Mitigasi Berbasis Komunitas

• Strengthen enforcement of environmental permits for mining, plantations, and road construction in protected forests.
• Develop community‑based early warning systems with automatic rain‑gauges and river‑level sensors in high‑risk sub‑districts.
• Expand reforestation programs targeting >50,000 ha of critical watersheds by 2030, involving local farmers and NGOs.
• Integrate disaster‑resilient standards into all public infrastructure (drainage, bridges, evacuation routes) and allocate annual maintenance budgets.
• Conduct regular environmental education and simulation drills in schools and village halls to raise preparedness.