 I've just returned from Central Kalimantan province here in Indonesia. We were in Simbangal National Park, the most beautiful place. It's home to amazing creatures like the hornbill, the sunbear and almost 7,000 orangutans, the largest population on earth, the forest man, 90% of the genes of all humans. It's also home to massive peatland forest ecosystems that support these animals. Not long ago, unfortunately, Simbangal's peatlands were imperial. Between 1980 and 1995, our 85% of the forest was destroyed by illegal logging. The draining and the damage will take a long time to repair. But what I saw there now gave me a lot of hope. The Indonesian government, led by Ibu Siti, the environment minister, is making efforts to restore water back into the ground and reforest the area. And these efforts are part of a commitment from President Yokovi to restore 2 million hectares of peatland by 2020, a great goal and ambitious goal. We need more efforts to restore and protect peatlands. Peatlands are found in 180 countries and contain twice the carbon of all the world's forests. And they do more than help prevent climate change by storing carbon. The peatlands regulate flooding, supply useful forest products, and they give a home to many threatened species. When sustainably used, they can also provide livelihoods for the generations to come. But they continue to be logged and drained for agriculture. Slash and burn clearing is a cheap way for farms to do so. But the long-term costs are huge. When peatlands burn, emissions skyrocket. During the major forest fires of 2015 here in Indonesia, burning peatland released more carbon dioxide in one day than did the entire nation of the United States of America. Over half a million people developed respiratory problems. Children were suffering. Many can learn from the Indonesian experience, the good and the bad, that fortunately more and more from the good. And that's why you are here this week. I encourage you to share your experiences, to improve on practices, to innovate on technologies and to inform policies. South-South cooperation and global partnerships like the Global Peatlands Initiative are crucial for this to happen. For biodiversity, for the climate and for people, we need healthy peatlands. I hope this event will be another step in achieving that worldwide.