Indonesia praised for rainforest protection steps

The Indonesian president was greeted by praise when he stopped by Harvard University to visit students and give a speech on climate change, it has been reported.

According to Antara News, students at the university held a demonstration on the campus and held up yellow and pink posters with messages thanking President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for his climate change policies.

Talking to the source, a student named as Dominic said that Indonesia had helped to bring the issues of global warming to the fore by convening world leaders at the Bali Summit in 2007.

"What Indonesia has done is really of great significance because, after the Bali summit on climate change, world leaders continue to meet and are going to meet again in Copenhagen, Denmark," he said.

Other students at Harvard referred to the leader as a "climate change hero".

Much of Indonesia's rainforest has been hit by heavy deforestation, with the fastest levels of clearing being seen in Sumatra Riau.

Around 65 per cent of the area's forest has been cleared over the past 25 years.

Written by Zara Hassan.
ADNFCR-2073-ID-19398872-ADNFCR