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Batang Toru power plant project hits snag as orangutan conflict worsens
The Batang Toru hydropower plant has caused a global controversy for threatening the habitat of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, raising concerns over the likelihood of its extinction.
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Tentative existence: The Tapanuli orangutan is considered one of the rarest great apes in the world, with the fewer-than 800 remaining apes located in the region of Batang Toru, North Sumatra, south of Lake Toba. (Creative Commons/Tim Laman)
T
em>The construction of a hydropower plant in Batang Toru district in South Tapanuli has caused global controversy for years as it is built in the habitat of the endangered Tapanuli orangutan. The Jakarta Post joined the Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists (SIEJ) in December in a collaborative reporting project to visit the construction site and nearby villages to get the latest developments on the project. This is the final part of the report.
Every harvest season, Asmar Simanjuntak has no choice but to live in a shack inside a durian farm for three months, leaving his family in Bulu Mario village in South Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra.
If he did not stay on guard at the farm, orangutans would harm the durian trees under his care by tearing their branches to make nests and eating away at the fruit. Once it cost him half of his harvest, a significant loss for Asmar. Other commodities grown by residents like palm sugar, bitter beans and dog fruit have also met a similar fate.
Asmar said intrusions by orangutans had intensified ever since the construction of the Batang Toru hydropower plant, located about 17 kilometers from the village, began in 2017.
The construction site sits inside the habitat of the Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis), an endangered species that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers the world's rarest great ape.
Tapanuli orangutans are tree-bound and the power plant construction has forced the animals to intrude on nearby villages and farms, following the loss of forest in their habitat.
Read also: Poor planning causes PLN to pay more for Batang Toru hydropower plant
