South Sulawesi Provincial Government Requires Every High School Student To Plant 5 Trees To Preserve The Environment

Portrait of logging in South Sulawesi. (Photo: South Sulawesi Walhi via Antara)

JAKARTA - The Government of South Sulawesi through a circular of the Acting Governor of South Sulawesi requires every student at the high school level (SMA) or equivalent to plant five trees to preserve the environment.

Head of the Environmental Management Agency of South Sulawesi Andi Hasbi Nur in Makassar, Monday said the provincial government is trying to maintain land cover, namely by specifically requiring high school students to plant and maintain a minimum of five trees while they are in high school.

"These high school students are under the authority of the province, so they are required by all school children to plant and maintain trees, located both at home and at school," he said.

"So they plant trees starting at the time of entry, and maintain them for three years. This is one form of support for the problem of forest area cover in South Sulawesi," added Andi Hasbi explaining.

Currently, continued Andi Hasbi, South Sulawesi is making priority areas that must be touched in the implementation of forest rehabilitation.

This effort involves almost all elements, from the central government, provinces to the private sector.

In general, the Government of South Sulawesi through the Environmental Management Service together with the Acting Governor of South Sulawesi has a target through an index of environmental quality, one of which is a land cover.

"One of the indexes is a land cover. We have a target every year which is expected to increase and thank God there is an increase," Hasbi claimed.

Acting Head of the South Sulawesi Education Agency Imran Jausi said that at the direction of the Acting Governor of South Sulawesi, a tree planting circular had been issued to all equivalent high schools under the auspices of the South Sulawesi Provincial Government.

The tree planting program has been launched on the commemoration of National Teacher's Day (HGN) 2021 in Makassar and is being implemented in stages by the school.

"We have launched the tree planting according to the Circular of the Acting Governor that every student plants five trees and maintains them in every school in the context of Teacher's Day," explained Imran.

The South Sulawesi Provincial Government applies digitalization to the implementation of tree planting by monitoring activities through applications.

"We monitor everything, including if we plant trees from home," he said.