• After Cyclone Senyar killed more than 1,100 people across Sumatra, the Indonesian government has acknowledged that deforestation and land-use changes — not extreme weather alone — amplified the scale of floods and landslides.
• In a significant shift, authorities are now explicitly linking disaster impacts to development decisions and corporate activity, signaling that permits will not shield companies from accountability.
• The government has launched a three-track response: rapid disaster impact assessments, reviews of provincial zoning plans, and environmental audits of more than 100 companies across extractive and infrastructure sectors.
• Civil society groups have cautiously welcomed the move, but note that meaningful reform will depend on whether Jakarta is willing to revise permissive zoning plans that legally enable large-scale forest conversion.