TEMPO Interactive, BANDUNG:The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministrys Geology Agency is collaborating with Germanys Institute for Geo-science and Natural Resources to map disaster-prone areas in Indonesia.
The collaboration has entered the third phase. In this phase, we will focus on human resource reinforcement and the improvement of disaster mitigation mapping, especially spatial planning management in the provinces, said the Geology Agency secretary Yun Yunus Kusumahbrata at a press conference during the workshop, “Mitigation of Georisk” in Lembang, Bandung, yesterday.
Yunus said cooperation with the German government was initiated in 2003. Besides mapping disaster areas, he added, the program would focus on preparing people to manage disasters. We also want to strengthen the database in the Geology Agency on disaster issues so the results can be utilized across the country, he said.
Matthias Dorn, head of the geo-risk project team, said his office would focus on Central Java, Yogyakarta, and in the future, Lombok. We will first focus on Yogyakarta after the Merapi eruption, he said.
Yunus also said the Geology Agency would monitor wells in big cities to study ground water conditions. We will soon recommend that Commission VII in the House of Representatives (DPR) manage the ground water crisis in major cities, he said. Yunus said the regional centers would later monitor ground water used by industries and hotels.
In Jakarta, many industries and hotels use ground water that is causing land subsistence, he said. In the initial stages, the Geology Agency will build a monitoring well in Jakarta. After that, we will try to build similar facilities in cities such as North Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, Ende and West Sumatra as these areas are prone to similar problems, he added.
ANGGA SUKMA WIJAYA
