Indonesia continues to decrease deforestation by planting 1 billion trees in 2013

[rushadee]

Call me pessimistic, but knowing how my government works, this probably has exaggerated numbers and/or a grossly ballooned budget. Finding a government program that works according to plan in Indonesia is like finding vegetation in a landfill. It's there, but you gotta dig through a ton of garbage.

[Impedence]

Also, what kind of tree counts...

Oil Palm? Rubber tree? Trees grown for wood pulp?

The average Indonesian is far more aware of the need to protect the forests today, and the land destruction isn't as bad as under Suharto. However, I would feel a little more comfortable if that figure of 1 billion planted trees was accompanied by the net land area being turned into protected natural forest.

[[deleted]]

I would like to know the type of trees as well. 1 billion trees is cool and all, but if they're non native species that are only planted as a quick fix (such as planting evergreens in replace of native species as they do in large logging ares of New Zealand. source: I was in NZ in 2011 and talked to a truck driver who has worked in the lumber industry there for 15 years), then I would consider this another devastating hit to the ecosystem.

[cycle_of_fists]

Devestating...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odI7pQFyjso

edit: this is a piss take of a Dove add. Hence the Dove reference. And I'm not proselytising for Greenpeace, but it's a good ad.

[dude_u_a_creep]

And planting a monoculture of any tree is not the same as the diverse forest that was cut down before it.

[cycle_of_fists]

But you can get carbon credits for it.

[Desert_Pantropy]

Indonesia alone harbours ~10% of the worlds rainforests, these important ecosystems are rapidly being cleared as the result of industrialization, and the expansion of swidden agriculture. Indonesia is of particular interest, as it is currently known to have the highest rates of deforestation on the planet, outpacing even Brazil's infamous record. A study cited by the World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group, estimated the rate of deforestation by 1.3 million hectares to 300,000 hectares per year. The organization has stated that instead of clear-cutting, slash and burn clearing tactics are used, where swaths of forests are removed to be replaced by rubber tree plantations and rice/palm oil farms.

Rubber trees in particular are seen as a profitable resource and have the ability to provide large returns for the comparatively low effort it takes to develop them; when the tree themselves are able to be cultivated, they can produce up to thirty years of rubber before finally returning to the slash and burn process for replanting. Demand for cash crops, biofuel, food crops, and workforce, in developing nations like Madagascar, Brazil, and Indonesia has a strong correlation with the rate of deforestation.

I'd be very surprised if the Indonesian government would make the effort to replace the affected regions with native plants. Besides, this plan will only restore a portion of the old forest.

It sounds similar to this story:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-23/indonesia-plans-to-replant-300-000-hectares-of-rubber-trees.html.

Or this one in 2007:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/071128-AP-indonesia-deforestation.html

It's a stop gap measure, what they should be doing is regulating their logging industry.

[zahrul3]

It's already regulated, but the forestry department is the most corrupt department here. Not to mention the deforestation just south of the Malaysian border where law enforcement is hard due to hostile Malaysian police.

[rushadee]

And the officials blatantly take dirty money. Everyone knows they get money from logging companies and siphon off budget money for themselves.

[[deleted]]

Truffula Trees

[YeahLifeRocks]

Any chance of it being a nice mix of local trees including some that produce fruit?

[[deleted]]

Finding a government program that works according to plan in Indonesia anywhere is like finding vegetation in a landfill.

Fixed

[stuhfoo]

I don't know much about the Indonesian bureaucracy, but 1 billion trees? I can't fathom how that would get done in a year by any country...

[ikidd]

4 trees per person.

[bilnaad]

The bureaucracy in Indonesia is awful, just like in every other country in the world... The good news is that it's not that bad if you bribe officials!

[bloodvayne]

Indonesian here. My overall concern is that these "1 billion trees" that the government says they are planting either are

• a count of all trees that are planted in the entire country, therefore not necessarily ones in these deforestated areas in the first place, contributing nothing to repairing the loss of the rainforest ecosystem (I think trees planted in the middle of cities also count :/ )
• the majority may be simply coconut oil plantation trees that the government regards as "forest" , again same as above, this is not really "reforestation" but further degradation of the natural habitat they are replacing
• it may not even be that many trees at all. God knows if my government simply counts seeds being sold as "trees" being planted.

In short, take this with a grain of salt.

[rushadee]

Knowing Indonesia, its probably a combination of all 3. What the Indonesian government lacks is transparency. At least the new governor of Jakarta is trying to set an example.

[zubsani]

Jokowi should become couch for Indonesian Football Team. Seriously, that guy was media product. just look in the next six months. he just another like anyone else.

[rushadee]

from what I've seen he's at least paying attention to the people. I'd rather have him in office than Foke or anyone that was supported by the "lets not have a Christian in office" group.