Dr. H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President of the Republic of Indonesia
Istana Negara
Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara
Jakarta Pusat 10010
INDONESIA

RE: Thank you for preserving tropical forests--further steps needed

Dear President Susilo,

I congratulate you on your government's recent announcement that it intends to abandon plans for a massive oil palm plantation in Kalimantan that would have destroyed nearly two million hectares of ancient rainforest along the Malaysian border. I also applaud your government's announcement of support for the "Heart of Borneo" tri-country conservation initiative which aims to preserve one of the most important centers of biological diversity in the world, covering approximately 220,000 km of tropical rainforests and numerous wildlife species including the critically endangered orangutan.

These are extremely commendable and important steps in the vital task of preserving your nation’s rainforests and giving your people a chance for a sustainable and prosperous future. However, Indonesia's rainforests remain in a state of dire crisis. Indonesia continues to lose two million hectares of rainforest every year to illegal and legal logging, oil palm cultivation and encroachment upon protected areas. This gravely threatens your nation's ecological sustainability and future development potential.

I now urge you to build on these two important and courageous steps you have taken by formalizing your decision to cancel the Kalimantan plantation and by firmly committing your government to this agreement at the 14th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, next May in New York. The ancient rainforests that were threatened need to be given permanent protected status that is effectively implemented and enforced. All of Indonesia's remaining ancient rainforests should be fully protected to ensure continued ecosystem services and community development opportunities for your country.

I also urge you, for the sake of your people and the future of Indonesia, to fully embrace and actively promote the "Heart of Borneo" initiative. This will be a good start to providing the leadership on rainforest stewardship that your people and the world so urgently need. I join millions of concerned citizens in Indonesia and around the world in watching and hoping you provide Indonesia's rainforests and citizens a sustainable future.

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