00:00This is what Lobu Pinning village in North Sumatra looks like after it was hit by landslides that killed hundreds and destroyed thousands of homes.
00:11One of the survivors, Tumiar Sitinjak, lost everything.
00:16She believes deforestation was the main cause for the catastrophe, and she's not the only one.
00:23I think this landslide happened because of the new forest plantations, and I don't agree with that.
00:34It's clear that monoculture plantations harm the community. They should be banned because they benefit only a few people while hurting many others.
00:44Don't replace our forest just because it brings in a lot of money while ignoring the community's future.
00:51According to recent data, parts of North Sumatra's forests have now been replaced with monocultures like palm oil and eucalyptus plantations.
01:03Locals have never seen anything like this. And if this is caused by deforestation, the pressure is now on for the government to get to the bottom of it.
01:14An investigation of massive deforestation on the island is underway.
01:19But for now, the priority is still on helping the victims by clearing roadways so critical aid can get through the survivors in isolated villages.
01:29Hopefully the weather continues to work in our favor. Please pray for us. To clear the road in this area, we estimate it will take a few more days.
01:44These people from isolated villages must walk kilometers barefoot just to get food to survive.
01:51And tackling deforestation is one way to prevent this from ever happening again.
01:57THEY SPOT
02:04CLINICAL
