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roups of activists, students and environmentalists staged rallies across the nation Friday to mark World Environment Day and raise public awareness of Indonesia's environmental problems.

In Malang, East Java, a group calling themselves the Greater Malang Community Alliance for Environmental Awareness (AMPL), rallied at the regency's administrative office to voice their concern over various environmentally damaging government policies.

The highlight of the protest came with the handing over of a letter written by the protesters addressed to "hell's guardian angel."

"Why did we address it to the Malang municipal council? Because we're convinced that there are many angels there," AMPL spokesman Wiwid Tuhu Prasetya told reporters during the demonstration.

He said sending a letter to "the angels" was a form of expressing the disappointment and anger of environmental activists over the condition of the environment in the Greater Malang area.

"The rally is aimed at showing our care for fighting for the interests and rights of the people," Wiwid said.

In the letter, AMPL outlined 10 environmental problems in Malang, including the exploitation of open space, improper environmental impact analysis and the limited availability of budget funds for eco-friendly facilities.

"We also feel that the city is revising a neighborhood ordinance which could legalize the exploitation of green open spaces. We express all this in the letter and petition and are seeking consolation from the angels," Wiwid said.

Also in Malang, ProFauna Indonesia and members of the Kucur village community in Dau district commemorated World Environment Day in their own way. The community, which lives along the slopes of Mount Kawi, issued village ordinance No. 3/2009 on wildlife protection.

The ordinance stipulates regulations favoring environmental preservation, including a ban on wildlife poaching and the outlawing of fishing by poisoning and electric stunning.

"Besides that, it also includes rules banning villagers from felling trees near water sources, because they are part of food sources for wildlife which also must be protected," ProFauna Indonesia chairman Rosek Nursahid said.

The drafting of this ordinance was assisted by members of the Petungdewu Wildlife Education Center, a ProFauna program which promotes environmental education.

Based on ProFauna data, Kucur village and its surrounding area is home to 80 species of bird, some of which are protected, such as the cekakak jawa, eagle snake and black eagle.

The ordinance is expected to preserve these species and their habitats in Kucur village and is intended to make the area more environmentally friendly.

In Central Java, students from Diponegoro University urged members of the public to plant more trees. They distributed free sengon and mahogany tree seedlings during a rally at the Fountain Circle on Jl. Pahlawan in Semarang on Friday.

"We remind people that today is World Environment Day. We urge members of the public to be involved in environmental campaigns," rally coodinator Didik Hartono said.

The students, members of Diponegoro University's Nature Loving Students (Wapeala) group, also distributed stickers reading "Trees for a better future".

"As the result of global warming the temperature has risen due to the damaged ozone layer. That's why we should plant more trees to prevent the condition from worsening," Didik said.

In Yogyakarta, environmentalists from the local chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) held a protest against the neglect of environmental issues in the province.

A crowd of around 100 people began marching at around 2 p.m. local time from the Abu Baker Ali parking lot to Jl. Malioboro, ending their rally at the city's post office intersection.

Besides carrying banners emblazoned with pro-environmental slogans, a number of participants wore green underpants and T-shirts to symbolize the importance of trees.

They also handed over 94 documents detailing neglected environmental cases to the provincial legislature and administration. They demanded the government immediately resolve the environmental cases so as to prevent further environmental damage.

Coordinator of Walhi Yogyakarta's research and campaign division Fathur Rozikin said the environmental cases included the exploitation of sand resources in Kulonprogo, which has damaged the surrounding are and led to the loss of livelihood for hundreds of sand farmers.