By: Maya Bellina

Bogor, November 28, 2013.The rainy season has come again. For some residents in Jakarta and surrounding areas this can be interpreted into two; good news and bad news. The good news is the notion that rainfall is synonymous with blessings for nature and living things. The bad news is that it is not uncommon for rain to fall in high volumes, resulting in potential flooding in a number of places in Jakarta, especially low-lying areas.

The situation is exacerbated by the condition of the Upper Ciliwung Subwatershed which has approached critical due to massive land use change since the last 3 decades. The impact of damage to the Upper Ciliwung Subwatershed will be felt directly by residents of the Jabodetabek city. Therefore, as one of the efforts to improve it, PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA) through the Bakti BCA program in collaboration with WWF-Indonesia planted trees on Thursday (28/11) at Telaga Saat, Gunung Mas, Puncak, Bogor. Jahja Setiaatmaja, President Director of BCA, Subur Tan, Director of BCA, and Retno Utaira Pantouw, Finance and Management Services Director of WWF-Indonesia attended the tree planting event.

"This tree planting program is carried out in order to support forest and land rehabilitation efforts in the Upper Ciliwung sub-basin. This social activity aims to support the government's commitment to reduce Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions by 26% through its own efforts by 2020," Jahja said on the sidelines of the joint tree planting activity. "This activity is BCA's active participation in commemorating the Indonesian Tree Planting Day (HMPI) which falls every November 28," he added.

The President of the Republic of Indonesia at the 2009 Climate Change Summit committed to reducing Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions by 26% through its own efforts by 2020. This commitment is proven by the mandate of "Planting One Billion Trees" which has been going on since 2010. He wants this program to involve all components of the nation in the rehabilitation of forests and critical land as well as anticipating the impacts of global climate change.

This is not the first time BCA has supported the one billion tree planting program launched by the government in collaboration with WWF-Indonesia to encourage critical land rehabilitation efforts. On this occasion, BCA donated 2,400 tree seedlings to be planted in the Upper Ciliwung sub-basin area. This location was chosen because it is included in the priority zone of the Forestry Department and plays an important role for the livelihood of Jabodetabek residents. Rehabilitation efforts are expected to increase the carrying capacity of the watershed while reducing the risk of flooding.

"In the rainy season, the upstream runoff of the Ciliwung watershed has the potential to cause flooding in the middle or downstream, so reforestation is one of the important efforts to increase land surface vegetation cover and optimize the function of the upper Ciliwung watershed as a rain catchment area," said Retno Utaira Pantouw, Director of WWF-Indonesia. "With more attention and conservation efforts from various parties, both individuals and companies, the condition of the upper Ciliwung watershed will have a direct impact on the environment in the middle (Bogor) and downstream (Jakarta)," she added.