Indonesia planted 3bn trees in past 2 years

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Monday that the country had planted over 3 billion trees over the past two years, a move aimed at mitigating deforestation in the archipelago country. President Yudhoyono expected the move to continue in the future so as to make the country more eco-friendly. "We have planted at least one billion trees every year. In the last two years, a little bit more - over 3 billion trees - have been planted," he said at the State Palace. "I expect 30 years from now on, maybe some of us will have passed away, but our great grand children will see Indonesia become more green, more healthy and more eco-friendly," he added. The move is part of the government's efforts to cut gas emission by 26 percent by 2020 and extend it to 41 percent with international aids. The president said Indonesia has succeeded in curbing deforestation. "At the beginning of reform era (1998) deforestation was about 3.5 million hectares per year and now it is only 500,000 hectares per year," said Yudhoyono. Nevertheless, he warned that there are some burdens in managing the country's rain forest sustainability. "There are still breaches which will end up in corruption through an unprofessional management of forest. We can not turn a blind eye to this practise," he said. A joint action deal was signed on Monday to fight such mismanagement of forest, which involved legal institutions, anti-corruption watchdog and ministries.