The activities were centered at Eiger Adventure Land Megamendung, Bogor District, West Java, and took place simultaneously in Malang, Lebak, and Wonosobo to commemorate World Tree Day on Friday.
Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno noted that the initiative was a response to the increasing incidence of flooding and landslides in various regions.
"This is our shared responsibility, not only the government's initiative. We must rehabilitate critical lands throughout the region," he stated.
He emphasized that reforestation in the upstream and downstream areas of river basins (DAS) is key to reducing disaster risk, especially in areas like the Ciliwung Watershed, which is home to around 3.5 million people.
According to Pratikno, restoring vegetation is crucial for retaining soil, reducing water runoff, and suppressing river sedimentation.
In a virtual address from Wonosobo, Central Java, the Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Suharyanto, informed that Indonesia experiences more than 3,000 disasters each year, with 93 percent of these being wet hydrometeorological disasters.
"In the past month, flash floods and landslides have occurred in various regions. In Nduga, Papua, there were 23 fatalities, in Cilacap-Majenang there were also 23 victims, and 18 residents are still missing in Banjarnegara," he outlined.
He then explained that seedlings planted in this activity were selected based on ecological and economic vegetation concepts.
West Java received 123,720 seedlings, Central Java received 68,250 seedlings, East Java received 20,000 seedlings, and Banten received 14,500 seedlings.
"The selected vegetation not only protects the environment but also provides long-term economic benefits for the surrounding community," he noted.
Meanwhile, the head of Bogor District, Rudy Susmanto, expressed his appreciation for his region being selected as one of the centers for this national activity.
"Reforestation is a long-term investment. This is not just for today, but for the next five to ten years," he conveyed.
Susmanto added that the rehabilitation of the Cikeas and Ciliwung watersheds will be carried out sustainably, where his party has also held a preparedness roll call for potential hydrometeorological disasters towards the end of the year.
"We want to minimize the factors causing disasters to protect the community," he remarked.
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Translator: Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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