Indonesia can restore its lost forests within 15 years if current and planned reforestation projects are allowed to proceed unhindered, the country's Forests minister M.S. Kaban said.

Kaban put the cost of rehabilitating forests across the country at $US1 billion.

The minister acknowledged the importance of the green belt of tropical forest "that stretches from Papua in the east to Aceh in the west" in a speech to religious assembly in central Java, calling on its members to help preserve the country's natural environment.

Indonesia is estimated to be in the top five nations for greenhouse gas emissions on the strength of its high rates of deforestation.

"We should now plant trees more than we fell, as we have set in the programs now being carried out throughout the country," Kaban said.

Jakarta Post 24/6/08, Antara News 7/7/08