WHILE removing stones from soil, Menason Pulingdaka, 64, kept hoeing and planting the seedlings of tamarind (Tamarindus indica) on a riverbank. This man is a resident of Pura Selatan village, Alor Island, East Nusa Tenggara. Rows of trees lined the riverside where Pulingdaka was working. "People are eager to grow trees to anticipate landslides," he said when Tempo met him last week.

The land on the riverbank is sloping, with a stony soil structure d