 Please be seated ladies and gentlemen. Thank you President of the Republic of Indonesia his Excellency Dr. Cecil Bambang Yudhoyono their Excellencies Ambassadors and International Representatives Ministers of the second Indonesian Cabinet Ministers and Vice Ministers of Southeast Asian Countries Director General of C4 Center for International 4C Research Dr. Peter Holmgren Distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen it gives us great pleasure to welcome you to the opening plenary session of Forest Asia Summit 2014 here in Jakarta Taking the theme sustainable landscapes for green growth in Southeast Asia We are indeed honored to have the presence of President Yudhoyono Who will shortly deliver a keynote address to mark the opening of the plenary session and Now ladies and gentlemen to commence with this morning session is an opening address By the Director General of C4 Center for International 4C Research Dr. Peter Holmgren Your Excellency Dr. Cecil Bambang Yudhoyono President of the Republic of Indonesia Ambassadors international representatives Indonesian Ministers Ministers from across Southeast Asia Distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen good morning Welcome to the Forest Asia Summit Led by my organization the Center for International Forestry Research and co-hosted by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry It's a great privilege for me to welcome you all together. We can take the opportunity to make a difference Because our world is at a turning point Decisions are to be made on the international arena over the next 18 months That may shape our common future for generations to come Forests and landscapes in Asia are a critical part of that future producing food protecting the environment Progress in gender and equity Providing opportunities for livelihoods and Proceeding against climate change must all happen at the same time and often in the same places We must succeed with this not only for the hundreds of millions who live in this region, but for the entire planet I Refer to three global policy processes and initiatives that are underway Over the next two days we can show just how central and integral Forests and landscapes are for making progress in these First the post-2015 agenda and the sustainable development goals The SDGs will be a reference point for our efforts for years to come Some are concerned that forests are not Visible as a single goal and fear that forests will now receive too little attention But I argue the opposite We have and we must take the opportunity to demonstrate that forestry Contribute strongly to all development priorities But for this to happen sectors must work together to find combined landscape solutions That is why we want to see a dialogue between forestry and agriculture Between public and private and between urban and rural the second global priority is the next climate agreement The intergovernmental panel on climate change has just released its fifth assessment report on climate change adaptation and mitigation the IPCC reports show Just how important our food systems and forest management They show that adaptation and mitigation in the land-based sectors are a very big part of the solution We will learn more from dr. Patshawari the chair of IPCC in his keynote address tomorrow Later this year the world's climate negotiator will meet in Lima for COP 20 a milestone towards a new climate agreement We have the privilege of welcoming Peru's environment minister Manuel Pulgar Vidal The incoming COP president to speak at the Forest Asia Summit tomorrow and third the green economy initiative Across the world Governments businesses and consumers are beginning to change the way they operate To make sure that the natural resources we draw from today will still be there tomorrow But this also requires a new way of thinking new ways of leveraging capital and Building a rural economies new ways of working together Again across all the sectors in the landscape Green growth with equity indeed in my view Starts with sustainable investments in the landscape and let's remember that forestry is a cornerstone in a green economy Each of these three ambitious Aspirations relies on knowledge good decisions make good use of robust reliable and relevant evidence Evidence that informs us not only about the state of knowledge But also about options for action and the possible consequences of those actions See for us delivered forestry research across Asia and the world for more than 20 years together with many many partners And we have built this summit on the foundation of that research and partnerships We call on you today for your views on priorities and for your commitments to research On forests and landscapes to inform policy processes to inform business practices and to find the path Through investments through dialogue through research towards a sustainable world Now I would like to introduce someone who does not shy away from making and keeping commitments His Excellency Cecilio Bambangiorio no the president of the Republic of Indonesia Two and a half years ago at a conference like this one President Yuri owner announced that he would dedicate the remaining years of His term to the protection of the country's forests since that time President Yuri owner introduced a more Moratorium on new forest concessions he formed a government agency dedicated to red plus a policy framework that aims to slow the rate of climate change through fewer emissions from forestry Since then Indonesia has changed its laws on indigenous people's rights to customary forests and during that time President Yuri owner has championed inclusive green growth and Also during this time President Yuri owner co-chair at the high-level panel tasked with designing sustainable development goals and Delivered the panel's recommendations To the UN Secretary General Making commitments to green growth equity and sustainability and follow them following them through takes foresight innovation and leadership Distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen, it's my honor to introduce his Excellency the president of Indonesia Cecilio Bambangiorio Ladies and gentlemen keynote address by the president of the Republic of Indonesia his Excellency Dr. Cecilio Bambangiorio no Thank you, Dr. Peter Holm claim for your kind Introductions it motivates me to do more in the years to come to protect our forest and our environment Peace be with you Asalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh peace be upon us all Your honor dr. Peter Holm crane director general of C4 Excellencies ministers and ambassadors heads of international organizations Distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen First of all Let me express my appreciation to C4 the Center for international forestry research and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry for organizing this important summit I Am particularly pleased to learn that more than 100 youth are participating in this auspices occasion your participation shows that We do share similar dedication to preserve our natural environment This is a testament of your readiness to solder the noble cool of Safe-guarding our tropical forests As I look around this room, I Am glad to see the comprehensiveness of participants I noticed that over the years From one conference to another That I have the opportunity to address The numbers of participants continue to grow. I Can see ministers and Senior officials responsible for forestry. I also see development specialists researchers and academics and We have among us community representatives and the private sector truly what brings us together is our Patience and anti-suitisms to protect our environment. I Am pleased that this enthusiasm is also shared by people in Southeast Asia More countries in the region are adopting sustainable development and green investment practices Pro-environment policies are increasingly visible in government development strategy and private sectors plan In fact, pro-environment policies are part of Indonesia's full-prong development strategy that includes pro-growth pro-jobs and pro-poor With this strategy, we are striving to achieve sustainable growth in line with a Basin of a green economy and one of the new green policies in Indonesia is a Nationwide program to reduce emissions of greenhouse cases and to enhance our carbon stock To that end we are reforming our forest management to a higher level of Sustainability we are also increasing the number of planted trees and prohibiting the clearing of primary forest and lands as a result Trees are taking root and forests are gaining more foothold in 2011 I sign a moratorium of new utilization and conversion licenses to protect more than 63 million hectares of primary forest and pitlands This is an area larger than the landmines of Malaysia and the Philippines combined Last year I extended the policy until 2015 I am hoping that my successor can further prolong the policy of morat of this policy of moratorium Through this we have lowered our deforestation rate From 1.2 million hectares per year between 2003 and 2006 Into 450 and six hundred thousand hectares per year during the moratorium period in 2011 until 2013 and therefore we managed to reduce 211 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year from the Basin is as usual projections in The last four years we have planted more than four billion trees If you have any doubt I welcome you to start counting them but don't lose your counting tracks, so you don't Start counting again from the beginning a Success story in adopting a pro-environment policy can also be seen in the village of loncha central Sulawesi For generation loncha villagers practice slash and burn land clearing For many decades. This was the only method they know This practice top up to the introductions of a community peace program to manage forests and watershed area The community is now aware of the dangers of slash and burn techniques Besides releasing carbon into the atmosphere. It also destroys habitat and threatened ecosystem Furthermore the techniques may expose the villagers to greater risk of starvation and now Lonca farmers I should say loncha farmers plan on a permanent plot of land they know how to alternate between crops and Ensure land fertility Similar stories can also be found throughout Indonesia of the joining a farmers union and obtaining a community forest permit Hundreds of farmers from Kunung kita Regency in Jogjakarta are now managing 115 hectares of land in a sustainable manner Among China tick trees They plan medicinal plant and crops for animal feed in Konawa Selavatam Saudi Sulawesi Villages from a partnership with the global NGOs to deliver internationally certified forestry products and They do this from plot of land they own and manage These communities and many other similar community based organization are now at the Forefront of sustainable forage management effort They are planting trees seedlings instead of cutting trees down They work on a plot of land instead of the unsustainable practices of recent past slash and burn and move Alhamdulillah These practices have been weeded out from those communities and sustainable land use has now taken root Excellencies ladies and gentlemen Despite those hard-working achievement More remains to be done. There are still many cases of unsustainable land use practices Forest and peat lands of Southeast Asia continue to decline and degrade in real province Sumatra for instance Despite all preventive measures taken by the provincial stakeholders over the years Forest fires still occur from time to time I Personally witness the forest fires there and the devastating effect to the local people and neighboring provinces as the local government failed to mitigate To mitigate the dire situation caused by the fires I took immediate steps I deployed disaster relief missions in Rio couple by strong law enforcement actions The mission itself involved military and civilian personnel Following these measures over a hundred individuals and a dozen Corporations are facing court trial for first three related crimes Crimes that cause humanitarian and environmental disasters This little message sends a firm message Burning land and forest logging illegally and farming on illegal plantation Either by individuals or companies will not be tolerated Nor left unpunished Real forest fires give us many lessons. It was a man-made disaster that disrupted the lives and damage the health of ordinary law-abiding villagers Town folks and communities The haste paralyzed transportation and communications vital to daily lives and services that businesses depends on and it prevent Children access to schools and education The two constructing cases of the lonca community and the real province further Conwaying us that forestry governance must be strengthened This involved accurate forest mapping for conservation and sustainable land use Through this initiative, we will have a unified map for Indonesia to help settle competing claims to land and I should say at the same time we will able to better reduce deforestation and Improve the productivity of our natural landscape Another effort to strengthen forestry governance is the recent establishments of the red plus agency ladies and gentlemen Forest management is a cross cutting issue and not only about keeping the trees It is about striking a balance between the need for conserving the environment and Guaranteeing the rights of local communities over their customary forest By doing so, we provide them with the means to improve their welfare and economic progress And this is indeed in line with Indonesia's development strategy of sustainable growth with equity The central tenet of this strategy is About creating prosperity for everyone in a way that does not harm the natural environment Upon which we all depend. I am also pleased that the idea of Sustainable growth with equity has been reflected in the final outcome document of the high-level panel on the post 2015 development agenda I do hope that upon the acceptance of the report by the UN General Assembly The idea will become part of development policies of UN member countries Starting next year. We will begin the discussions of the post Kyoto protocol process we will also See the beginning of the implementations of the post 2015 development agenda I believe sustainable forestry will become a critical part of these two processes Many hope that the post Kyoto process will recognize the true value and contribution of forest landscape their economic social and environmental values in this regard Indonesia and other Asian countries must ensure that the upcoming climate negotiation in Lima Peru Give particular attention to this matter With this in mind, I am convinced that our gathering today is pertinent as the team makes it clear We do need sustainable landscape for green growth in Southeast Asia His story has regarded set stories of environmental destruction from excessive Exploitations of natural resources Even some island countries have lost a part of their hit territories due to sustainable unsustainable mining practices We must be mindful that in the rest to develop and to quickly reduce poverty We often give fewer consideration on sustainable development It is no concedence that in the drive for industrialization countries produce greenhouse gas emission at a higher rate Even today according to the recent report of the UN in the governmental panel on climate change IPCC emissions of greenhouse gases are Continuing to rise to an unprecedented level The report also underlined that the world has not done sufficient effort to carve emission in a broader context We already see the adverse impact of climate change on our life from the killer heat waves in Europe wildfires in Australia that live large in Pakistan and Fatal Taipun Haiyan in the Philippines in the case of Indonesia more than two-thirds of the country's greenhouse gases emission come from deforestation pitland fires and degradation and therefore our commitment to fight deforestation and Pit degradation is our significant contribution to the global effort in mitigating climate change For us protects us against climate change Indonesia is the world's second longest expense of mangrove and the largest area of tropical pitland that store enormous amount of carbon Keeping them intact is essential for averting the worst impact the worst impact of climate change But of course Indonesia cannot do it alone This is also the reason why Indonesia seek international sport Including to ensure do it that we only trade certified forest products Ladies and gentlemen within the next 15 years The population of ASEAN member countries is projected to increase by 84 million people This means that there will be more demands for housing Transportation's and of course food and energy If left unchecked this will put more pressure on the environment. I Believe the series enough ASEAN do not waste to follow the self-destructing path of development Therefore, I also call upon governments in Southeast Asia to continue developing a regional strategy a strategy to increase their adaptive Capacity and to promote low-carbon economy. I also urge the businesses across the ASEAN region to Commit to sustainable land use and investment practices This is the same call that I made three years ago to Indonesian business leaders at that time I urge them to partner with the government in enhancing environmental Sustainability I call on the citizen civil society Organization research centers think tanks and academia to strengthen and develop their partnership a Partnership to achieve a more sustainable forest management practices. I Invite our partner countries to continue sporting Indonesia's red plus program and go beyond carbon and to the youth Who will inherit our planet? Let us continue working together Let us ensure that your generation as well as future generation enjoy a green and sustainable environment before I conclude I wish to leave you with a parting thought What we do today is not for our own benefit It is more for the billions of people who will inherit our earth therefore The responsibility is upon us who live today to protect and save our forest for our children's children Thank you. Salamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh Distinguished guests