Amid the rapid expansion of plantations and mining activities in forest areas, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has vowed to both sustain the environment and eradicate poverty.

“As a developing nation, we must prioritize the promotion of growth and the eradication of poverty, but we will not achieve these goals by sacrificing our forests. We must attain both development and the [good] management of our forests simultaneously,” he said at the Forests Indonesia Conference on Tuesday.

Forestry talk: Norway’s Environment and International Development Minister Erik Solheim (right) talks to the United Kingdom’s Minister of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Jim Paice, during the Forests Indonesia Conference in Jakarta on Tuesday. JP/Ricky Yudhistira