Sumatra Post-Disaster Rehabilitation, Deputy Chair of Commission IV DPR Urges Reforestation

Deputy Chair of Commission IV of Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR), Alex Indra Lukman, has emphasised the urgency of reforestation to address upstream causes of flooding in Sumatra following recent disasters. He stated that restoring deforested areas is critical to solving flood issues at their source.

Alex noted that deforestation is not a simple issue, with forest recovery taking years to restore degraded areas to their original state. “This is technically complex and requires many years for the forest to recover,” he told reporters on Thursday (28 May 2026).

The PDIP legislator called for enhanced coordination between relevant ministries and the Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Acceleration Task Force (PRR), including the Ministry of Finance as the national treasury. He stressed that all planned activities must secure budgetary support to ensure completion without leftover funds.

The DPR has approved the Master Plan for Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction submitted by the PRR task force, which includes 11,512 programmes requiring a total budget of Rp100.1 trillion over three years. This comprises Rp38.9 trillion for 2026, Rp32.9 trillion for 2027, and Rp28.2 trillion for 2028.

Alex welcomed the Finance Minister’s directive for directors-general to proactively finalise disaster management planning administration submitted by ministries and agencies. “The Master Plan is now finalised, the budget allocation has been approved by the DPR, and the Finance Minister is taking proactive steps,” he added.