JAKARTA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia will replant trees in tens of thousands of hectares of lands along the upstream areas of a river following the floods and landslides in and surrounding the country's capital of Jakarta that left over 67 people dead, an official said on Thursday.
The Citarum river whose upstream area is situated in West Java province with downstream territory ending in Jakarta has seen its bank broken and waters submerging surrounding areas during torrential rains in the New Year's Eve, displacing nearly 400,000 people, according to a disaster agency.
"One of the tasks that must be accomplished is to cover the critical lands, located at the upstream areas of Citarum, with forests. So this year, a massive reforestation will be conducted," said Safri Burhanuddin, a senior official at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs.
According to data from the Citarum task force, 77,037 hectares of lands were classified as less of forest-covered areas or critical, whose function to hold waters during heavy rains has decreased.
To implement the reforestation program, Safri said, it would involve all stakeholders from both government and the private sector in the country.
In the next two years, an evaluation will be carried out over the result of the reforestation, the official said in a statement.
The recent floods, flash floods and landslides in the capital and its peripheral areas have also had huge infrastructures damaged and business activities disturbed.
