Indonesia’s national reforestation programme was launched by president Megawati Soekarnoputri in the East Nusa Tenggara town of Sloe.
The president, planting the first of 100,000 trees in the area, said she wanted the project to be community based and not government led.
After his downfall in 1998, president Suharto’s reforestation programme was at the centre of corruption allegations. His golf partner Bob Hasan was jailed on charges of abusing funds.
The government has this year allotted R3 trillion to reforest 600,000ha, part of a five-year reforestation programme worth R15 trillion.
