People should not be greedy in exploiting natural resources: president

Gianyar, Bali (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on the people not to be egoistic and greedy in exploiting natural resources so that future generations could also benefit from them.

"We should not be egoistic or greedy nor abdicate our responsibility to protect the interest of future generations," the president said when inaugurating the Bali Safari and Marine Park here on Tuesday.

The head of state said coming generations also had the right to benefit from existing natural resources.

"Therefore, I agree to and support the initiative of all quarters to preserve natural resources," he said.

On the occasion, the president also raised the question of domestic-versus-global economies which was often taken up by various quarters.

"One should not set the local and global economies against each other," said the president who was accompanied by Minister of Tourism and Culture Jero Wacik.

He said it was impossible for the Indonesian economy to avoid the effects of the global economy. "We are living in a globalized era so that our local economy is facing challenges from the global economy," he said.

Therefore, the president called on central and local government leaders to keep boosting the resilience of the local economy.

"I want all leaders to be creative, innovative and responsible for the solution of local problems," he added.

The Bali Safari park was built on a 40-hectare plot of land and being managed by the Indonesian Safari Park of Bogor in West Java.

The president was accompanied by Mrs Ani Yudhoyono, Forestry Minister MS Ka`ban, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono and Transportation Minister Jusman Syafei Djamal.

During his visit to Bali, the president on Tuesday also spoke at a function marking the introduction of bio-fuels dubbed bio-pertamax and bio-solar.

He appealed to technologists to discover and develop cheaper technology to produce alternative fuels such as wind and solar energy to reduce the country`s dependence on fossil fuel.

"We must find cheaper technology to develop alternative energy such as wind and solar energy," he said.