T

he United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will officially announce the inclusion of the Mount Batur caldera in Bali into its list of world geopark sites later this month, head of Indonesia’s Geology Agency R. Sukhyar said in Bandung Friday.

“UNESCO has included and admitted Mt. Batur as a world geopark and its official announcement will be made on Nov. 15, 2012,” Sukhyar said.

UNESCO defines a geopark as a territory encompassing one or more sites of scientific importance, not only for geological reasons, but also by virtue of archaeological, ecological and cultural value.

Mt. Batur was acknowledged as Indonesia’s first international geopark on Sept. 20, 2012, Sukhyar said, adding that the official acknowledgement would be announced during the 10th Europe Geopark Conference in Portugal.

Located roughly 60 kilometers north of Denpasar, Mt. Batur is an active volcano, the caldera covers an area of 10 x 13 kilometers and was formed between 23,670 and 28,500 years ago.

Sukhyar said after Mt. Batur, the Indonesian government had also proposed five other sites — Merangin geopark, which is rich in flora and fauna fossils in Jambi; Toba Lake in North Sumatra; the Raja Ampat area, which is well known for its beautiful underwater view in West Papua; Gunung Sewu area, which is rich in limestone caves in East Java; and Mount Rinjani National Park in Lombok — all as candidates to become the next UNESCO international geopark.

Sukhyar said that UNESCO representatives were expected to check the latest condition of the proposed geoparks in Indonesia later this month.

“This is an excellent chance for us to see the shortcomings,” he said.

UNESCO plans to label up to 500 geoparks around the world. The geopark program works in synergy with UNESCO’s World Heritage Center and the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

The Global Geoparks initiative is being adopted by increasing numbers of UNESCO’s member states. The concept is becoming popular due to the combination of conservation, sustainable development and community engagement.

UNESCO has actively promoted the geopark concept since 1999.

Secretary of the geology agency Yun Yunus Kusumahbrata said on Friday that proposing Mt. Batur as the world geopark had not been without obstacles. It took four years to prepare, he said, adding that the “proposal in 2011 was turned down”.

Mt. Batur was actually registered to be included in UNESCO’s announcement last year, however, there were some issues that had to be improved and revised to meet the organization’s requirements for an international geopark.

In order to deem an area an international geopark, UNESCO take into consideration its existing geological uniqueness and how the area will be able to give added value to its nearby residents. Residents were also asked to be ready to support its preservation, Yunus said.

“Technically, schools in the area teach students to help preserve the world geopark. Thus, through an education system such as this, nearby residents are expected to voluntarily take part in its preservation. In short, it deals with environment preservation to improve the quality of people’s lives in the future,” he added.

Yunus further said that there had thus far been 91 international geoparks in the world. Out of the total number, 27 geoparks are located in China.

The government hoped that the admission of Mt. Batur as the new international geopark would contribute greatly to the people through ecotourism.