Hectares of forests re-greened

MALANG, East Java: The local forestry office will launch next month the re-greening of 1,168 hectares of forest in southern Malang.

Spokesman Abdurrahman Saleh Aziz at the local office of the state-owned Perhutani forestry enterprise was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday that the South Malang area is particularly prone to almost-annually flooding and landslides because of the denuded forests there.

He said the types of trees to be planted include ebony and pine.

The reforestation is scheduled for December to coincide with the peak in the rainy season as well as with the start of local farmers' planting season. The farmers will plant their crop alongside the trees, Abdurrahman said.

Malang has 117,536 hectares of forest. A total of 78,000 hectares are protected forests, 35,000 hectares production forests, while the remaining are tourist parks. (swe)