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lfred Russell Wallace, the celebrated naturalist, described Indonesia as "the jewel of the equator". Over the next few weeks, Indonesia's delegation at the Copenhagen climate talks will demonstrate whether our future policy will be to cherish this jewel and hand it on to our children, or to simply try to cash it in.

This is an issue of national pride as well as of economics and development. The Indonesia that we love is defined by its complexity, its beauty, the pragmatism and wisdom of our many cultures and the magnificence of our extraordinary plants and animals.

But Indonesia's international standing does not reflect this - we are seen as a nation that is rapidly developing, but also as a nation that does not value its natural heritage and is emitting enormous quantities of carbon by leveling its forests - we inspire concern, not hope, around the world.

But at Copenhagen, Indonesia truly has the chance to prove that it has come of age, put its colonial past behind it and is prepared to become a world-leader in its own right - taking a stand against climate change that will both inspire a new respect for this nation and help to build a proud future for us and our children.

For Indonesia this is, first and foremost, a question about our future. One of the key discussions in Copenhagen will be around REDD+ (Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation "plus" conservation) which has profound implications for Indonesia. REDD+ is, at the most basic level, a plan to keep forests standing and therefore to prevent the CO2 emissions associated with the cutting and burning of them.

Indonesia's high deforestation rates mean that it would be eligible to benefit substantially from REDD+ funding and Conservation International is already working in Papua, North Sumatra, Aceh and other areas of the archipelago to help prepare for REDD+. Will this funding really be able to compete with the cash from the green gold-rush that has led to the rapid conversion of huge swathes of our forest into plantations for palm oil production in recent years? - probably not.

But this is where the mettle of this Government will show.

President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono has expressed Indonesia's commitment to 26 percent CO2 cuts in emissions at the Pittsburgh G20 meeting earlier this year - 41 percent if other nations made similar commitments - but this noble offer can only be fulfilled if the government dramatically cuts the number of forest conversion permits. REDD+ can help compensate for the associated loss in revenue, so it is logical that the Government must support REDD+, and must make sure that it is adequately funded. It can do so through leadership in international climate negotiations.

A dual financing mechanism relying on both public and market sources has the best chance of providing adequate, predictable and sustainable REDD+ finance. Conservation International is also working with the governments of Guyana and Suriname to help develop their low carbon development plans, and is engaged in discussions with governments around the world to do the same thing.

Furthermore, Indonesia must show leadership within the international negotiations by demonstrating that is fully appreciates the value of the standing forests that are part of Indonesia's natural heritage. It should stand up for safeguards within the REDD+ mechanism that can protect the biodiversity and ecosystem services of Indonesia's forests as well as the indigenous peoples and local communities who depend on them.

This is not to say that Indonesia must abandon palm oil and timber as sources of revenue, but it must diversify its economy if it wants sustainable economic growth. We cannot put too many of our eggs in one basket, and our portfolio of revenue from our lands should include revenue from our standing forests. Indonesia has learned the painful lesson that markets take as well as give, and the collapse of the price of cloves in the 1990s damaged the livelihoods of many, and the economy of Indonesia as a whole.

REDD+, if set up properly, offers us the chance to generate sustained revenue from an essential service that our forests provide - removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it - that will have to remain competitive with changing commodity prices.

In enabling us to maintain our forests standing, it will also support a range of other services - protection of our fresh water supplies, protection of fertile soils and numerous other benefits.

We know that the people of Indonesia want to protect this stunning land. These islands are our home, and we are rightly proud of them, so at Copenhagen Indonesia must unequivocally support the strongest possible REDD+ initiative to protect our islands - our jewel - from both the ravages of climate change and the ravages of the chainsaw.