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amage to the forest ecosystem around Toba Lake is reported to increase every year, a fact that drew the attention of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when he visited Balige, Toba Samosir regency in January 2011.

The President expressed his concern in his speech during the inauguration of Batak Museum in Balige. Yudhoyono stated that he had seen from the top of the area that many hills were barren.

He expressed his displeasure saying that it ruined the panoramic view of the famed tourist attraction and did not contribute to the global efforts in environmental preservation or in offsetting the effects of climate change.

In his speech he said that tree planting efforts should be implemented immediately around Lake Toba. This instruction is included in the annual one billion trees planting program in Indonesia.

Indeed the forest on the hills around Lake Toba has an important role in maintaining water levels in the lake water resource which is subsequently used for power generation. There are three power generators that depend on the water of Asahan river which has the upper stream at Lake Toba.

A reduced volume of water in Lake Toba can threaten the
operation of the three power generators which in turn will have an impact on electricity supply for North Sumatra.

Executive Director of Indonesia Institute for the Environment (Walhi) for North Sumatra Syahrul Isman commented that a large part of the supporting forests around Lake Toba were badly damaged due to rampant illegal logging and the opening of forest areas to create more and more farming land and industrial plants.

Syahrul explained that the damage to the supporting forests make the area around Lake Toba prone to various natural disasters, such as floods and landslides.

In this context Syahrul said that he was surprised by the government’s attitude which gives the impression that the government allows the continuous usage of the forest, including the protected
forests which are turned into industrial plants.

“The government should be firm in this case and must be firm about the way the forests are being opened and used in this area, because if not in the near future all the protected forests will be finished,” said Syahrul Isman.

According to Syahrul the government must play an active role in restoring the ecosystem in the forests around Lake Toba so that the lives of the communities close to Lake Toba are not threatened.

“Until recently we have never experienced floods on Samosir island which is located in the center of Lake Toba, but the fact is not long ago Samosir island was heavily flooded. This is due to deforestation and therefore the water cannot be absorbed anymore,” said Syahrul.

Head of North Sumatra Forestry Office James Budiman Siringo-Ringo acknowledged that the forests around Lake Toba were already barren.

“The forests have been barren for quite some time now,” James Budiman Siringo-Ringo told The Jakarta Post recently.

When asked the cause of the deforestation Siringo-Ringo said it was forest fires. He added that his office together with all sectors of society, were striving to turn the forests around Lake Toba into a green area via reforestation.

“I must admit that our reforestation efforts have not been able to solve the problem or the damage to the forests around Lake Toba,” said Siringo-Ringo.

Director of PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL) Juanda Panjaitan said that his company had been given the Forest Industrial Planting licence (HPHTI) around Lake Toba, but the license given by the government
is for a location with a declivity or tilt that is not in the direction of Lake Toba.

Meanwhile, he said, the location close to Lake Toba was community land and traditional land that has not been planted so that it is bare and barren.

In view of so much ineffective land, added Juanda, PT. Toba Pulp Lestari through its program called Wood Production for the Public (Perkebunan Kayu Rakyat — PKR) has collaborated with the communities to plant the unused areas with eucalyptus trees. The area for plantation is 7,500 hectares out of which, he said 3,800 hectares belonged to the communities around Lake Toba.