REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WONOGIRI -- President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has set a target to finish clearing the Gajah Mungkur Dam in Wonogiri, Central Java, of its sediment.

"We aim to finish dredging its sediment in two years. After that, we will no longer work on it," Jokowi said on Saturday.

He added that many dams in Indonesia had critical sediment content, including the Gajah Mungkur Dam.

"The dam is built, but its river basin areas are not maintained," the president explained, adding that the Gajah Mungkur Dam collected some six million cubic meters of sediment every year.

He further noted that the sedimentation process had been going on for decades. Jokowi expressed hope that after its sediment is cleared, the dam's capacity would continue to be maintained by planting trees in its upstream areas and river basin regions.

In the meantime, the President also referred to the tree planting program that has been carried out by the government to preserve the environment in the past several years. He was here on Saturday to attend a function to commemorate a the tree planting day. 

However, the President said the tree planting would no longer be made an usual event but a regular one. Starting in 2015, Tree Planting Day and Tree Planting Month would no longer be commemorated in a ceremonial manner, President Jokowi Widodo said.

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