Hectares of forests re-greened

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)