The floods and landslides in Indonesia's Batang Toru in November 2024 killed more than 1,100 people and wiped out up to 11% of the world’s rare Tapanuli orangutans. The disaster led to a deep investigation of companies operating in the area. The Indonesian government has now taken serious steps. President Prabowo Subianto announced the revocation of permits for 28 companies, stopping their work in the Batang Toru ecosystem. This includes the mining firm PT Agincourt Resources, which runs the Martabe goldmine, and PT North Sumatera Hydro Energy, which is building a big hydropower project on the Batang Toru River. Most other permits were for timber and palm oil plantations. These actions follow findings from an official Forest Area Regulation Task Force investigation. Earlier this week, Indonesia’s environment ministry also sued six companies for 4.8 trillion rupiah (£211 million) in connection to environmental damage over 2,500 hectares in watershed zones. PT Agincourt Resources said it was unaware of the permit cancellation until media reports and that it respects government decisions while seeking clarity. The mining operation has paused since 6 December. Environmentalists have long warned about threats to the Batang Toru forest, home to the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, which numbers about 800. Early reports after the floods say between 6.2% and 10.5% of this population died. Scientific teams plan further studies on the damage. Researcher Erik Meijaard noted that landslides in the West Block mostly resulted from heavy rains on steep slopes, with tentative links to the goldmine and hydropower project. Still, conservation groups see the government’s crackdown as a victory. Amanda Hurowitz from conservation group Mighty Earth said, “The Indonesian government must now act to permanently end any further deforestation. And to begin work, as it has indicated, to restore the damage that has been done, prevent any further loss of human life and offer a future for the Tapanuli orangutan.”