Speaking at the Forests Asia Summit in Jakarta, U Win Tun, the country’s Union Minister for Environmental Conservation and Forestry, said his government “was fully committed to climate change mitigation and sustainable forest management” as it seeks to transform itself politically, economically and socially after years of isolation.

All eyes are on Myanmar to see whether it can maintain growth in its newly liberalized economy without that growth coming at the expense of its forested landscapes — a path that many of its more-developed neighbors have taken in recent decades.

Southeast Asia is on the frontline of the fight to balance the needs of a growing population, a growing economy, and environmental protection. Ministers, civil society, academia, the private sector and youth from every country in the region took advantage of the two-day Forests Asia Summit to seek ways to better manage forests and landscapes in the shift toward a ‘green economy’.