A Tree is Born: Indonesia’s Eco-Friendly Plantation Law

Forests are the leading sinks for carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that is responsible for much of the global warming problem that we face today. Prevention of deforestation has, therefore, topped the objectives of many green projects. Legislations have been passed against deforestation in many places. But few governments have attempted to formulate laws, and enforce them, regarding active plantation. Now we have an exciting example from Indonesia where plantation has been made a part of family law.

Balikpapan is a seaport city in the East Kalimantan province of Indonesia. The well-known mining and timber industries in the areas around the city have been the cause of deforestation that has now reached an alarming limit and raised the concern of environmental authorities. To tackle the problem, the government has taken a novel measure for replacing the lost vegetation. A new environmental law has been approved that requires families to plant a tree each time there is a marriage or birth in the family.

This new law in Kalimantan represents eco-conscious legislation conceived in a positive light. Unlike the laws that restrict and ban certain practices, erecting psychological challenges to people, Kalimantan’s law of plantation founds the tradition of actively participating in promoting vegetation parallel to one’s own procreation. For Indonesia, making plantation a legal duty means a growing sink for carbon dioxide, and hence some degree of control on global warming. The law will also certainly rebuild more natural habitat for various living forms. Having lost about 70% of its original forests, Indonesia is now actively planning for the protection of its environmental treasures. The plantation law for families, therefore, is a milestone placed there at the right moment.

Kalimantan’s plantation law also comes as a model for other nations, especially for developing countries with large populations and a rapidly growing industrial sector. No doubt that the governments need to enforce complementary laws that ensure proper protection and care of the newly planted trees. Local environmental bodies may be organized, involving volunteers, to care for the plants through their tender years. Some form of incentives may also be offered to families who take good care of their gardens.

Global warming is not an unbeatable problem. It has started to spin out of our control because we broke up with our environmental-friendly traditions of organic cultivation and love for our natural green surroundings. By making plantation a family tradition, we shall practically overcome the threat of global warming and restore our natural habitat that promises us our survival on this planet.

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