Indonesia, which has been losing forests at a rapid pace in recent years, plans to plant 100 million trees across the country this year in an effort to limit deforestation, a forestry official said Wednesday.
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| An Indonesian student finishes his environmental themed mural during a contest in Jakarta on July 27, 2008 to mark the country's Education Day. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had called for citizens to make a bigger effort to plant trees across the massive archipelago, as the destruction of Indonesia's forests is seen as a major contributor to global warming and climate change, experts said. (AFP/Getty Images) |
Indonesia has lost an estimated 70% of its original frontier forest, but it still has a total forest area of more than 225 million acres (91 million hectares), with a host of exotic plants and animals waiting to be discovered.
The richest forests are found in Borneo --the world's third-largest island shared among Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei --which is home to about 2,000 types of trees, more than 350 species of birds and 210 mammal species.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said in a report that Indonesia was suffering the fastest forest loss in the world at almost 1.9 million hectares per year.
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| Trees smolder after a clearing fire near Bukit tiga puluh natural forest in Riau, Central Sumatra, Indonesia, April 30, 2008. A WWF study found that deforestation, in many cases to plant biofuel friendly palm oil plants, in central Sumatra's Riau Province over the past 25 years has generated 3.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide. (AP Photo by Achmad Ibrahim) |
In 2007, Indonesia succeeded in planting more than 100 million trees, surpassing its planting target of 79 million, said forestry ministry spokesman Masyhud.
"The realisation of planting in 2007 shows that the public is enthusiastic... we hope it can become the culture of the community," Masyhud said.
Indonesia plans to start planting on November 28 and continue through December to coincide with the rainy season or planting season, Masyhud said.
Southeast Asia's biggest economy is also among the world's top three greenhouse gas emitters because of deforestation, peatland degradation, forest fires, according to a report sponsored by the World Bank and Britain's development arm.
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