Uprooted trees swept away by a flash flood in Aceh Tamiang, Northern Sumatra

Uprooted trees swept away by a flash flood in Aceh Tamiang, Northern Sumatra

 Yasuyoshi CHIBA

Indonesia will revoke more than 20 forestry permits across the country, the forestry minister said Monday, after deadly floods and landslides devastated parts of the northwestern island of Sumatra. 

Environmentalists and experts have pointed to the role forest loss played in flash flooding and landslides that this month killed more than 1,000 people and washed torrents of mud into villages.

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.