Advocates link the disaster's severity to systemic deforestation and weak forest governance, while emphasising the need for expedited national-level disaster management.
The LBH-YLBHI network across western Sumatra has issued an urgent call for the government to declare the ongoing floods in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra a National Disaster Emergency.
In its statement, the coalition -- comprising the Legal Aid Institutes of Banda Aceh, Medan, Padang, Pekanbaru, Palembang and Bandar Lampung -- argues that national-level status is essential for enabling rapid and coordinated disaster management.
According to the coalition, a formal national emergency would grant BNPB and BPBD expanded authority to mobilise personnel, equipment and logistics, manage emergency funds and coordinate inter-agency operations.
The group emphasises that these mechanisms are crucial to ensure timely evacuation, fulfil basic needs and restore damaged infrastructure after days of extreme flooding.
Thousands of residents have been displaced, many districts remain isolated, food supplies are dwindling and fuel prices have risen sharply.
LBH-YLBHI says deteriorating communication and power networks have further hampered relief distribution, while reports of looting underscore the urgency of stronger state intervention.
LBH-YLBHI contends that regional governments have limited capacity to respond swiftly and effectively. It notes that existing legal frameworks -- such as the Disaster Management Act (Law No. 24/2007) and subsequent implementing regulations -- already provide clear criteria for declaring a national emergency.
It stresses that the state has an obligation to ensure protection, rescue and recovery for affected communities and must act decisively within the framework of disaster-management law.
Beyond the immediate emergency, LBH-YLBHI draws attention to long-term structural factors that intensified the floods. It argues that the disaster reflects the cumulative effects of climate change, extensive deforestation and widespread concessions for mining, plantation and hydropower projects across Sumatra.
The statement cites satellite imagery showing severe degradation between 2020 and 2024, particularly in West Sumatra, including forest loss in conservation areas such as the Kerinci Seblat region.
Illegal mining and logging are reported to be widespread in Dharmasraya, Agam, Tanah Datar and Pesisir Selatan, weakening natural water retention and contributing to severe flooding in urban zones such as Padang.
LBH-YLBHI therefore demands a nationwide moratorium on all forest-area concessions, along with a comprehensive review by the forestry, land, energy and environment ministries.
It also urges law-enforcement authorities and the Directorate-General for Environmental and Forestry Law Enforcement to investigate illegal logging and mining linked to environmental degradation.
Transparency Aceh Society (MaTA), the Legal Aid Institute of Banda Aceh, the Independent Journalists Alliance of Banda Aceh, the Indonesian Foundation for Justice and Peace and ICAIOS have each called for immediate and stronger national intervention, reflecting broad-based public pressure for decisive government action.
Arie Rompas, Head of the Forest Campaign Team, urged the government to declare a national disaster, citing escalating fatalities and the scale of damage reported by BNPB's disaster data centre.
He noted that the death toll had reached 604 as of 1 December 2025, with 468 people still missing and 2,600 injured.
According to the same data, around 1.5 million people have been affected and 578,000 displaced, alongside extensive damage to homes, schools and bridges.
Arie stressed that local governments cannot manage the crisis alone. He warned that food shortages in areas such as Sibolga were already triggering panic and that national-level resources were needed for search-and-rescue, relief operations and reconstruction.
He emphasised that decisive national intervention would accelerate coordination and distribution of assistance in communities facing acute distress.
Although BMKG previously attributed the initial flooding to extreme rainfall driven by a tropical cyclone, civil society groups argue that the event's severity cannot be separated from decades of uncontrolled deforestation and weak forest governance.