JAKARTA, 3 October 2011 – James Schultz, CEO of GCS, commends Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s commitment to dedicate the final years of his presidency to protect rainforests.

GCS is an active proponent of forestry conservation and has been applying its expertise to programme and jurisdictional carbon accounting, designed to reduce forest degradation in developing countries, particularly where commercial logging is a key driver of deforestation.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said: “If it weren’t for the benefits that our forests provide, then our way of life, our people, our economy, our environment and our society would be so much the poorer … our success in managing our forests will determine our future and the opportunities that will be available to our children.”

Schultz said: “This is the level of commitment required to save the forests both in Indonesia and the rest of the world. The income earned by conserving forests will deliver valuable resources to Indonesia and its indigenous people.”

Schultz noted that “Australia’s Carbon Farming Initiative is built on the same principles. It too delivers rewards for conservation and responsible land management.”

GCS appraises and develops policies and projects in environmental management, mitigation and integration of the ‘environment onto the balance sheet.’ In February 2011, the company announced the approval under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) of the world’s first forest carbon methodology to generate carbon credits by converting commercially logged forests into conservation areas.