10,000 seeds distributed to encourage tree planting

BOGOR: The Bogor Agricultural Institute's (IPB) Environmental Research Center, along with the Wildlife Preservation Foundation (IWF) distributed Manii tree seeds (Maesopsis eminii) to visitors at a shopping center in Botani Square on Friday.

Research center head Dedi Soedharma said the activity, part of the "one man one tree" campaign being promoted by the government, was expected to encourage people to plant trees in their neighborhoods.

"The campaign is aimed at tackling global warming," he said.

"We will also distribute seeds to villages around the IPB campus. We handed out 10,000 Manii seeds to customers of Giant *hypermarket* in the first phase."

He added the Manii tree, originally from Africa, was chosen because it had an economic value that could benefit people.

The tree can be harvested in four or five years. The logs can be used for construction work, the leaves as cattle feed, and the fruit can be eaten by a wide variety of mammals and birds, he said. - JP