Ahead of summit, Indonesia plants 79 million trees

obmar · Ahead of summit, Indonesia plants 79 million trees

Ahead of summit, Indonesia plants 79 million trees to
boost its green credentials

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article3213015.ece

Indonesia has embarked on a grand scheme to plant 79
million trees in an attempt to boost its green
credentials ahead of a United Nations climate change
summit it is hosting in Bali next week.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was
photographed this week planting saplings with
government ministers, declared that "illegal logging
is our biggest enemy" and added: "We will show
Indonesia's strong commitment and action to preserve
the environment and save our planet."

Environmentalists, however, were unimpressed. In
recent years, Indonesia has been destroying its
forests at a faster rate than any other country. As a
consequence, it has the dubious distinction of being
the world's third-biggest producer of greenhouse
gases, behind the US and China.

As for its commitment to cracking down on illegal
logging, which is a massive problem in Indonesia, one
of the nation's most notorious timber barons, Adelin
Lis, recently walked free from court in the city of
Medan and promptly fled, possibly abroad, to avoid
further charges.
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