2,500 people plant trees on Merapi slopes

2,500 people plant trees on Merapi slopes

YOGYAKARTA: About 3,00 civil servants, military and police
personnel, party activists, members of charitable organizations,
and local residents of Sleman regency, Yogyakarta, planted a wide
variety of trees on the southern slopes of Mt. Merapi on
Saturday.

The reforestation campaign was focused on the so-called third
square slope -- the highest in the Turgo mountain range -- which
is now completely deforested due to fires during last year's dry
season.

The trees planted on Saturday included mahogany, acacia,
damar, suren, puspa, gayam and salam trees, which were provided
by the Sleman regental administration.

Sleman Regent Ibnu Subiyanto, who led the reforestation drive,
said the move was part of efforts to save the Merapi area, which
had suffered severe deforestation due to fires and landslides.

He also said that the mountains in the area had been neglected
over the past six years.

"For the past six years, no attempts have been made to plant
trees on the mountains. So, it is not at all surprising that the
area has been completely deforested," Ibnu said on Saturday. --JP