Jakarta. Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said the conversion of forest land into vegetable farms in Cisarua, West Bandung, contributed to a deadly landslide over the weekend.

The landslide buried residential areas in Pasirlangu village, killing at least 17 people, while dozens of others remain missing.

During a site visit on Sunday afternoon, Hanif said some of the vegetables grown in the area were ill-suited to local environmental conditions, including potatoes, cabbage, and paprika.

“These are crops typically grown in subtropical regions at elevations of 800 to 2,000 meters above sea level,” Hanif said.

“These vegetables are not native to Indonesia. Most of the varieties being planted today originate from subtropical regions of South America, such as Chile and Peru,” he added.

Hanif said changing consumption patterns had driven demand for such crops, encouraging residents to open farmland on hillsides at the expense of forest cover, increasing environmental vulnerability.

He said the ministry would soon deploy expert teams to conduct a detailed scientific assessment of land-use change in the area to serve as the basis for future policy decisions.

“We will carry out a very detailed analysis of this landscape and then take further mitigation measures,” Hanif said.

Alternative Explanation
Geology expert Imam Achmad Sadisun from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)  said the West Bandung landslide was not a typical slope failure but was triggered by the collapse of a natural dam upstream, raising the risk of similar incidents recurring.

“Houses were not destroyed by landslides on the slopes where they stood, but were hit by landslide material transported from upstream through the river channel,” Imam said.

He explained that the disaster was caused by the formation of a landslide dam in the upper reaches of a river on the southern slopes of Mount Burangrang. Landslide debris blocked the river, trapping water until it reached saturation and suddenly collapsed, releasing mud, sand, and large rocks at high speed downstream.

Contrary to narratives focusing solely on land-use change, Imam highlighted the presence of thick weathered layers formed from ancient volcanic material. Prolonged rainfall saturated soil pores, causing the material to slide and block upstream river flows.

Imam warned that the threat had not yet passed, as experts had identified indications of similar blockages upstream. If heavy rainfall returns, accumulated water behind these obstructions could again break through, sending destructive debris flows downstream.

“If a river that usually flows suddenly recedes or disappears during heavy rain, people must remain alert. It indicates damming upstream,” he said. “Residents should immediately move away from river channels, as water can arrive suddenly in the form of mudflows.”