It is easy to plant a tree but to keep and protect it is difficult.Palu, C Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan plans the planting of 1.5 billion trees this year to re-green critical land and forest areas.
"In 2010 we succeeded in planting 1.39 billion of targeted 1 billion trees, and I am optimistic that we can plant more than that this year," Zulkifli Hassan said after attending the graduation ceremony of Palu Muhammadiyah University students here on Friday.
On the occasion he said the area of critical land at present covered 40 million hectares while the forest area in Indonesia covered 187 million hectares.
He said the trees could be planted in forest area, people`s forest, garden rehabilitation area, and mining reclamation area anywhere in an effort to prevent natural disaster and anticipate climate change or global warming.
The former legislator from National Mandate Party faction also expressed hope for the involvement of all parties to keep and protect the trees that had and would be planted.
"It is easy to plant a tree but to keep and protect it is difficult," he said, adding that the movement to plant one billion trees was an annual program.
Meanwhile, Forestry Ministry this year will also plan to rehabilitate 500,000 hectares forest and and watersheds areas, and to develop 500,000 hectares of industrial plantation forest and people`s plantation forest.
Besides attending the inauguration ceremony, the forestry minister also dedicated an academic forest at Palolo Sub-district in Sigi district.
The 5,100 hectares of the academic forest will function for the Palu Muhammadiyah University students activities. (O001)
(ANTARA)
Editor: Ella Syafputri
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