'Everyone who wants to get married or apply for a birth certificate must plant a tree,' Mr Syahrum Syah Setia, the head ofBalikpapan city's Environmental Impact Management Agency, said.

'The city's condition is already worrying, and we must act to tackle global warming.'

The areas around Balikpapan city in East Kalimantan province have lost some of their forest cover to deforestation from the mining and timber sectors.

East Kalimantan loses 350,000-500,000 hectres of forest land a year and the government can only replant 30,000ha of that, local environmental group Walhi said.

Indonesia has lost an estimated 70 per cent of its original forest land, although it still has a total forest area of more than 91 million ha. -- REUTERS