Tangse Flood, Price of Greedy and Negligence

Flash Flood that hit Tangse District, Pidie Aceh Regency, Aceh province, last week. Suddenly, brings back memory of a year before it. A sad story from the same place.

Expensive melancholy story that occur by human negligence to learn and friendly with mother nature.

Dark Twilight set upon millions of drizzles at Blang Maloe Village, Tangse District. Mud layer that covered the road was wet again, hundreds wood logs still scattered after flood that hit Tangse two nights ago.

In a refugee tent, behind the village clinic building,  Nurbaiti (52) leaning with restless.  Together with 20 other refugees, she lie down on wet plastic mattresses, the cold was biting on that dewy evening .

Nurbaiti explain, they are already two days sleep in the refugee tent. There was no blanket, but they must accept  this condition because they have no where alse to go anymore.

With her four family members, Nurbaiti fled only carrying clothes on her body.Everything is gone, said Nurbaiti stammered.

Nurbaiti not alone, there are 18 families at that village who lost their homes because of Tangse floods.

Not only lost their homes and possessions. Dozens of families had to give up their cocoa and rice fields that destroyed by floods. Hundreds of people lost their livelihoods.

Tangse flood disaster seem like Dejavu for some villager. Less then a year ago, five villages in that district was hit hard by a devastated flood. Nine people were killed, dozens injured, 328 homes destroyed, 210 hectares plantations were destroyed.

The event is only about 1 kilometer from current disaster, on the same path, with a similar damage pattern, destruction on watersheds, hundreds wood logs slide which flows along the mud, sand, and thousands cubic meters of rocks.

Almost a year ago after flood hit Tangse, Governor of Aceh at that time, Irwandi Yusuf, said that he will take firm action against the illegal logging perpetrators in Tangse.

Flood, were believed the result from forrest destruction caused by illegal logging activity at Tangse upstream watershed.

Governoor states is just rubish promise. No law enforcement to illegal logging perpetrators, damage continued at upstream. Illegal logging on Tangse and Geumpang hills almost unimpaired.

Along Tangse watershed, almost hard to find hard land that stands intact. Hills with 30 degrees slopes have been partially converted to deforested fields.

Indeed, its too early to states that environment destruction as the single cause for flood disaster.

However, piles of wood logs carried by flood, seems to be an indisputable fact that illegal logging damaging Tangse upstream watershed.

One of villager, Jafarudin (35), revealed that illegal logging is not a secret for people in Tangse. Hundreds of sawmill still operating in that region. Not known for clearly, from where they actually took their wood suply.

The market logic is more prominent, clearing the Tangse forest for timber seemed reasonable. This is ironic.

Instead, A series of natural disasters with massive loss in Aceh Province occur during the logging moratorium policy was announced five years ago.

Aceh Environment Foum (Walhi) noted, 46 floods occurred in Aceh on 2007, on 2008 increased to 170 events, 2009 rose to 213 events, and on 2010 increased again to 250 events.

Director of  Aceh Walhi, TM Zukfikar, said that the disasters that Walhi noted not include forest fires, wildlife conflicts, and landslides.

Tangse is just one portrait of how a damaged environment has great potential to bring great disaster. From Walhi data, rate of deforestation in Pidie region at the last five years has been quite high, reaching over 1,000 acres,an average could reach 200 to 400 acres per year.

The damage can occur by various factors, including illegal logging, encroachment, forrest conversion to plantation lands, and also due to the exploration and exploitation process of mines that prevalent at Piddie region.

On the other hand, both central and local governments role are too weak to overcome the problem. Contrary, amid the increasing of natural disasters threats due to environmental damage, hundreds of plantation and mining permits were issued by local governments.

Aceh Provincial Government through the Head of Bappeda Aceh, Iskandar, acknowledged the problems on environmental management in Aceh.

This problem caused by the absence of area spatial structure agreed between the Provincial and Regency levels. Iskandar expect, within the next six months area spatial strukture can be completed.

Spatial structure is very important. But, is it not local governments and law enforcement authorities also have another mechanisms to keep forest from destruction? They seem to be negligent. Unfortunately, that negligence must be paid by people that suffering from  the disaster.