Indonesia says it will recruit 5,000 Muslim preachers to help its campaign to preserve the country's forests.
The Jakarta Post reported Sunday that the preachers will receive training and a monthly salary of about $240 to speak against illegal logging and forest burning. The newspaper said the program is set to start later this year and will run through 2012.
Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan addressed the problem Sunday at a national meeting of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organization. He called on Muslim scholars to support Indonesia's preservation and reforestation efforts.
The Indonesian government has been fighting forest destruction for years with little success.