This blog was written by our Community Resource Exchange community collaborator Rahmad Syukur, Apel Green Aceh.
Aerial view of the village before the floods. Credit: Apel Green Aceh
Beutong Ateuh Banggalang is a region in Aceh Province, Indonesia, known as the land of the aulia: a place where spiritual values, customary law, and nature coexist in harmony. This area is blessed with extraordinary natural wealth: dense forests, clear rivers flowing through villages, and natural landscapes that have sustained the lives of local communities from generation to generation.
But at the end of November 2025, Beutong Ateuh Banggalang was one of the areas in the island of Sumatra hit by disastrous floods. More than a thousand people were killed in total and at least 5,000 were injured. More than 85 percent of houses and settlement facilities were destroyed, turning the area into a vast, flattened expanse swept away by the raging floodwaters. Some villages – such as Babah Suak and Kuta Tengah Sayang – have even disappeared entirely.
Hundreds of children, along with their families, were forced to flee and survive in evacuation camps under extremely limited conditions. Amid these conditions, survivors are now grappling with worsening diseases, as medical equipment was swept away by the floods and sanitary conditions continue to deteriorate. Emergency response efforts are also facing major challenges. Access to Beutong Ateuh Banggalang is extremely difficult due to steep terrain and severely damaged roads.
A man-made disaster
Houses destructed by the floods in November 2025. Credit: Apel Green Aceh
According to Indonesian environmental organizations, the dramatic impact of the floods and landslides in the region is a direct consequence of climate change and deforestation, which have rendered this territory far more vulnerable to extreme weather events.
Indonesian organization WALHI states that total deforestation across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra reached 1.4 million hectares between 2016 and 2024, while data from Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI) show that Aceh alone has lost roughly 177,000 hectares (ha) of forest in the past seven years. Deforestation is linked to both legal and illegal operations in the logging, mining and agribusiness sectors, often supported by international investments. Just before the floods, our organization had discovered roughly 30 cubic meters of harvested meranti timber stacked near the border of a protected forest in Babah Suak Village ‒ a vital ecological corridor connecting the Leuser Ecosystem and Ulu Masen Forest.
For the people of Beutong Ateuh Banggalang, the forest is the flame of life. It maintains ecological balance, prevents floods and landslides, regulates the local climate, and serves as a home for biodiversity. More than that, the forest holds history, the prayers of ancestors, and hopes for the future. It is where life values are passed down from one generation to the next.
Based on this understanding, the people of Beutong Ateuh Banggalang stand firm in rejecting all forms of activities that threaten and destroy nature. This rejection is not opposition to development, but resistance against destruction. They defend their land, forests, and rivers as a trust from God and a heritage from their ancestors that must never be sacrificed.
When disasters strike, solidarity saves
When the floods hit Beutong Ateuh Banggalang, our organization APEL Green Aceh responded swiftly. Emergency teams were deployed to map the impact, assess community conditions, and identify urgent needs. This response goes beyond logistical aid; it is an effort to uphold the dignity of the community, ensuring that people can continue to live alongside nature without losing their identity and local wisdom.
For five full days, APEL Green Aceh volunteers stayed in. They distributed all forms of assistance needed: basic food supplies, baby necessities for young families, kitchen equipment, as well as tents and temporary shelters. Every form of aid was delivered with care, respecting local customs and real community needs, so that the impacts of disaster could be addressed without disrupting the balance of life between people and nature.
Beyond the emergency: working to preserve Beutong Ateuh Banggalang’s nature
Beutong Ateuh Banggalang is one of the several villages where our organization operates. Our work there goes beyond emergency relief. Through regular mapping and monitoring, our team works to check the condition of forests, rivers, and settlements and to record ecosystem changes.
To instill values of sustainability, self-reliance, and ecological awareness, we also mobilize young people and women so they are actively involved in protecting forests, monitoring rivers, and utilizing renewable energy. This way, they can learn that forests are not enemies of development, but allies that must be cared for: the next generation should inherit not only land, but also the responsibility to safeguard life.
The presence of APEL Green Aceh in Beutong Ateuh Banggalang stands as concrete proof that environmental conservation and humanitarian efforts can go hand in hand. The village becomes a model of how humans can live in harmony with nature—protecting forests, respecting rivers, and preserving traditions that teach simplicity and balance.
A life in harmony with nature
From Beutong Ateuh Banggalang, the voices of nature and the people ring clearly:
“We protect the forest, we protect life, and we will continue to live side by side with nature.”
Every step in Beutong Ateuh Banggalang is inseparable from nature. The forest is not merely a place for shelter or a source of timber; it is the lifeblood and foundation of existence. The clear rivers do more than provide water—they serve as the village’s vital arteries, nourishing fields, gardens, and the daily lives of the community. Through the Pawang Huten method – an Acehnese indigenous tradition passed down from ancestors – the community controls the rain and the vital cycles of life.
For generations, the people of Beutong Ateuh Banggalang have lived by the principle of balance. They take from nature only what they need, without greed and without destruction. Customary values and local wisdom guide every activity, ensuring that nature remains sustainable and can be passed on to future generations. The forest is protected, not exploited; cared for, not sacrificed.
Beutong Ateuh Banggalang teaches us a simple yet profound message: when nature is protected, humanity can endure. When people care, nature remains sustainable. And when both move forward together, the future holds hope.
All aspects of community life – farming, gardening, harvesting forest products, and building settlements – are carried out with careful consideration of environmental sustainability. The people fully understand that destroying the forest means destroying the very source of life itself. Therefore, protecting nature is not merely a choice, but a moral, customary, and spiritual obligation.
Our hopes for the future
Beutong Ateuh is part of the heart of Aceh’s nature—a place where human life and forests meet and depend on one another. Yet, the forests that were once lush and the rivers that once ran clear now need all of our hands to be restored. Today, we at APEL Green Aceh, together with local communities, are committed to protecting every element of life in Beutong Ateuh—from renewable energy initiatives such as micro-hydropower and solar panels, to the protection and restoration of forests that serve as the lungs of our natural world.
This is not the work of one person or one organization. This is a shared journey. Every tree we plant, every river we clean, every clean energy source we install is a real step toward returning Beutong Ateuh to its green and vibrant face. We restore forests, restore rivers, restore the land, and most importantly, restore the hope of communities who live side by side with nature.
Let us unite, join hands, and work together to restore Beutong Ateuh. Let us ensure that our children and grandchildren can see green forests, breathe clean air, and live in harmony with nature. Every small step we take carries great meaning. Every form of support, every participation, will become part of real change.
Beutong Ateuh can become green again. Nature can recover. And the future can be bright once more, if we do it together. Let us move, let us care, and let us restore Beutong Ateuh: now, together, for all of us.
