Indonesia Poised To Plant Almost 80 M Trees In A Day-Long Event

November 28, 2007 9:47 a.m. EST

Jakarta, Indonesia (AHN) - In a bid to thwart criticism on its alleged deforestation, Indonesia is aiming to plant almost 80 million trees in a day-long activity on Wednesday.

The target number set during the mass tree planting, if hit, would set a new world record, BBC News reported.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who planted a native tree in Bogor, west Java as part of the 1,000 trees per village and administrative areas, said the trees are a gift to the world.

Indonesia has 71,000 villages and 8,000 other administrative areas, TerraDaily reported.

Yudhono added Indonesia's nationwide tree-planting activity showcases the country's serious commitment to protect the environment.

"We have been negligent in the past, now we have to get our act together," BBC News reported, quoting state news agency Antara.

Indonesia, which ranks third among the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter in a World Bank report, is set to host a global climate change conference in December.

Widespread hunger, flooding, and homelessness might hit the globe by 2040, scientists predicted, warning such could be curbed by averting climate change.

The treeplanting forms part of Indonesia's contribution to a United Nations-led drive to plant a billion trees globally to prevent climate change.

Indonesia's failure to curb rampant illegal logging has led to its losing nearly two million hectares of forest a year from 2000 to 2005, Greenpeace said, TerraDaily had reported in October.