REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA AT THE LAUNCH OF SDSN, 6 OCT 2013 BDNCC, BALI

Minggu, 06 Oktober 2013
Di baca 739 kali

REMARKS BY

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

AT THE

LAUNCH OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS NETWORK INDONESIA AND UN SDSN SOUTHEAST ASIA REGIONAL HUB

BALI NUSA DUA CONVENTION CENTER (BNDCC)

BALI, 6 OCTOBER 2013

 

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Om Swastyastu,

 

Peace be upon us,

 

Honorable Ministers and Officials of APEC Economies,

Governor of Bali,

Professor Jeffrey Sachs,

Professor Emil Salim,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

I am pleased to welcome all of you to Bali.  Indonesia is proud to host this important "Tri Hita Karana International Conference on Sustainable Development".

Tri Hita Karana is a concept rooted in the Balinese philosophy that places supreme emphasis on harmonious interactions between human beings and God, human beings with nature, and human beings with fellow human beings.  When we succeed at the three levels of interaction, the reward is prosperity and happiness.

Conversely, disharmony and disconnect in those interactions - as we have seen in previous centuries- have caused profound global problems.  War.  environmental degradation, poverty, hatred, and global warming.

 

Regretfully, human activities have also contributed to the severe degradation of our natural ecosystems and its regenerative capacity. Our reckless behavior puts pressure on our biodiversity, fresh water, and food access.

We know for sure that for many years, over-fishing, pollution, and habitat destruction have endangered our ocean ecosystems. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization, estimates that 80 percent of the world's fisheries are over-exploited, depleted, or in a state of collapse.

The World Food Program, meanwhile, estimated that there are 870 million undernourished people in the world. Tonight, one in eight people will go to bed hungry. And the next morning, he or she will not have enough energy to lead an active and productive life.

Industrial advances brought rising prosperity to hundreds of millions across the world, particularly the world's poor. But, it also came with some side effects. The human race has been choking the atmosphere with harmful greenhouse gases. Our addiction to fossil fuel is changing the global climate. Thus, the development model of the last century must change.

We can no longer afford to pursue development that would harm nature and the environment. We can no longer afford to harness the energy of carbon-based fuel without controlling its release of harmful green-house gases to the atmosphere. And we can no longer afford to sweep the problem under the carpet, and deny our children and grandchildren their rights to a habitable future.

It is the responsibility of our generation to reshape our path forward. NOW is the time to make a difference.

I am very pleased to see that here in this room, we are surrounded with individuals who are making a difference. I praise your creative approach to promote sustainable development solutions. I hope your activiation will inspire more people to make needed adjustments for the good of humanity, for example, in meeting our energy demand.

Over the coming decades, about two billion more people will join the rank of middle-class: from having an income per capita of less than 10,000 US dollars per year today, to between 10,000 to 30,000 US dollars in 2030.

Those two billion people-wealthier-will soon need more goods and services. On top of the budget for their basic needs, they still have extra spending capacity. It cannot be denied that in most cases, such an increase in disposable income put more pressure on our finite resources. As a consequence, we can expect surging demand for ENERGY. It is predicted that the world economy will consume around 40 percent more fuel by 2030.

And when we combine that emerging markets demand with the stable, yet very large existing demands from North America, Europe, and Japan, we are looking at an unprecedented pressure on the Earth's finite resources.

Our biggest challenge is how to change our course towards a more environmentally-friendly development path.

And to be able to do this, especially in a more interdependent world, I believe there are at least four joint actions that we need to take.

First, we must be ready to adapt and forcefully respond to the set of enormous challenges facing us. We need to evolve a new globalism that connects all Governments, businesses, societies in a solid international cooperation and partnership to tackle the issues of our time.

Second, we must be honest in taking stock of our own domestic efforts and contributions. We need to identify our own strengths and weaknesses. We must immediately do away with efforts which may cause unnecessary stress to the environment and undermine sustainable development.

Third, we have to accelerate the integration of environmental needs into our development strategies. When necessary, we must adjust our economic structure, as well as our consumption and production patterns. 

And fourth, governments and all stakeholders should work in partnership to promote sustainable growth with equity-developing the present without compromising the future. We must harness the potential of the economic and power shifts that everyone, everyone  is now discussing. We should have more teamwork and international cooperation and less geopolitical rivalry.

I truly believe that all the four joint actions  must also, must also be mainstreamed in the tourism context as this sectors also faces multiple challenges. And I share Ibu Mari Pangestu's views on the need to approach the tourism sector in a holistic manner, so it will contribute to sustainable development efforts. A sustainable development perspective on tourism will ensure that many generations to come will continue to enjoy the beauty of our nature. More holiday makers these days visit a country to enjoy the splendor of its ecotourism attraction.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

When we work together to face a common challenge, I am sure that we can make the most from our resources that are truly unlimited: our minds.

The solutions to our prolonged environmental and development problems, for instance, are in our respective minds. It is in the minds of each and every one of us here in this room and around the world.

When we put our minds together, I believe we can come up with technological, I should say with technologies to further increase energy efficiency of cars, power plants, homes, gadgets, farms, buildings, and others. When we put our minds together, we will create more innovations that can help us pursue development with less dependence on hydrocarbons consumption. And, when we put our minds together, we will find ways to overcome the threats to our biodiversity, fresh water, and food access.

Speaking about confluence of minds, as has been said by Professor Jeffry sets,  last May in New York, as one of the co-chairs of the High Level Panel on the Post 2015 Development Agenda, I presented a report to the UN Secretary General. The report was a work by the Panel that drew on the experience from implementing the MDGs, and the expertise of civil society, the private sector, academia, and research institutions from all over the world. The report contains concrete recommend-dations on ways to eradicate poverty and transform economies through sustainable development.

And in the framework of APEC, Indonesia is keen to mobilize the collective commitment to implement the principles of sustainable develop-ment across all sectors. The year APEC theme of, this year, the theme of  APEC Summit "Resilient Asia-Pacific, Engine of Global Growth" has sustainable development as one of its top three priorities. 

We continue to further broaden the sustainable development appeal.  I remember that the idea of this UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network gained momentum after the Rio+20 UN conference last year. Expertise and experiences are abundant. And, as a result of Professor Jeffrey Sachs' leadership, the SDSN has mobilized its network of experts to support the High-Level Panel process.

I am sure that we will continue to benefit from this network as it specializes in sharing information, best practices, knowledge, and technologies. The network will be our reliable partner, along our journey to find the most suitable approaches and practical solutions, to address critical challenges of sustainable development.

I encourage you to expand and continue creating networks of cooperation that bring together governments, and  private sector, and nonprofit organizations. I believe that through creative cooperation such as this, we can overcome the challenges of our time. And this will ensure that our development agenda will leave no people behind.

Finally, in cooperation with the United Nation, and by saying Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, I hereby launch the UN-SDSN Indonesia and the UN-SDSN Southeast Asia Regional Hub.

Thank you.

Wassalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Om Shanti Shanti Santi Om.

 

 

 

 

 

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