UKP-PPP PRESIDENT’S DELIVERY UNIT FOR DEVELOPMENT MONITORING AND OVERSIGHT
PRESS RELEASE “Moving Towards Sustainability: Together We Must Create the Future We Want.” Rio Centro, June 20th 2012 – Indonesia hosted a high-level discussion with prominent leaders entitled “Moving Towards Sustainability: Together We Must Create the Future We Want.” Joining the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono, at this event were Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway, Achim Steiner, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme, Yolanda Kakabadse, Chair of the Board of WWF and former Environment Minister of Equador, and Dr. Pavan Sukhdev, world renowned expert who lead the UNEP Study The Economics of Ecosystem and Biodiversity, and the Green Economy Report among others. Dr Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, Head of the President’s Delivery Unit for Development Monitoring and Oversight of Indonesia Chaired and moderated the discussions. The panel presentation was followed by reactions and remarks from the audience beginning with Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, UK; Ambassador Elisabeth Cousens, the US Representative to ECOSOC; Carlos Klink, Brazil’s Secretary of Climate Change, Jan Mattson, Under- Secretary-General, Executive Director of UNOPS, David Pitt-Watson, Chair UNEP Finance Initiative Investment Commission, Andrew Steer, Special Envoy for Climate Change, the World Bank; and Bindu Lohani, Vice President Asian Development Bank. The event discussed the many ways countries must move forward in a globalized world where not only capital and goods cross borders, but the negative impacts of unfettered anthropocentric ecological footprints are experienced by all. Within this context, President Dr. Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono emphasized the importance of development with equity, especially for the billions of people still mired in deep poverty who are bearing the brunt of negative impacts caused by a deteriorating global ecosystem. A major concern discussed was the historic reality whereby on a global scale countries have collectively been unable to fulfill the promise to ensure sustainable development with equality in mind, recognizing
meaningful change will fully depend on the resolve to implement real actions on the ground. There is a vivid recognition that time is running short for the world population of 7 Billion people, who have scientifically exceeded the 2.2 ha per capita threshold of sustainability. Serious action will need to take place in anticipation of the projected 2050 world population of 9 Billion people. ” We are seeing growing pressures between population growth and resources availability. Indeed, we have seen alarming cases around the world where resources competition turns into conflict. Meanwhile, climate change in the past 2 decades has worsened and for a variety of reasons, environmental priorities have not been placed in the mainstream of development agenda worldwide.” Future development pathway must attain real and equitable human development while softening the collective ecological footprint. Developed countries must reduce their ecological footprints which presently exceed per capita capacity by two to five times, while developing countries will need to improve human development and keep their ecological footprint at a sustainable level. Within this light, Indonesia, who is blessed with terrestrial and marine mega-biodiversity, and host to the third largest rainforest in the world, has a very important role to play in ensuring global sustainable development with a major role in carbon sequestration and in contributing to food security. For the sake of Indonesia, as well as the world, Indonesia will have to develop through a new economic paradigm, where environmental and social dimensions are fully considered through a green economy pathway. “Indonesia has moved to protect our remaining natural forests, and the biodiversity contained within them through a REDD+ partnership with Norway, and to ensure oceanic biodiversity through the International Coral Triangle Initiative.” explained President Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono. In moving forward, the dialogue focused on the need for all nations to work together to create the future we want, and a future that the planet deserves. This will need to be achieved by building and improving upon the various development tools that have proven to be effective such as The Millennium Development Goals. For the future, post 2015, it is considered imperative that new Sustainable Development Goals continue where the MDGs left off and that poverty eradication still needs to be at the centre of all aspirations.