T

he karst area along the Seribu Mountain range, which crosses the three neighboring regencies of Wonosari in Yogyakarta, Wonogiri in Central Java and Pacitan in East Java, is being prepared to be included as part of the global geopark.

As an initial step, a delegation from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), geologists and representatives from the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry visited the area for a couple of days
this week.

“The UNESCO delegates have directly observed the spots proposed for the geopark,” the head of Gunungkidul administration’s economy and natural resources division, Birowo Adie, said on Friday.

Among the places visited by the delegates were the prehistoric volcano of Nglanggeran in Patuk, Gunungkidul; the Kalisuci geosite in Jetis, Pacarejo subdistrict, Semanu; and the Jomblang cave in Semanu. They also visited the Karst Museum in Pracimantoro, Wonogiri, and a number of other places in Pacitan.

Birowo said the team was in the area on Tuesday and Wednesday to conduct an initial evaluation on the karst region. As the mountain range is located in three regencies, a joint forum, namely Pawonsari — referring to Pacitan-Wonogiri-Wonosari — has been established to discuss the matter.

“We will start working this month and by the beginning of next year, a comprehensive proposal for the geopark will be ready to be submitted to UNESCO,” Birowo said.

The project, according to Birowo, will focus on the three pillars of the economy, sociocultural aspects and the environment. “Exploitation is allowed in the area, but it has to be carried out while maintaining the balance of the environment,” he said.

Socially, local people will be told to preserve their respective traditions and customs. This is part of anticipating visits by tourists to the area once it is part of the global geopark.

As part of the global geopark, he added, an intensive international promotion on the karst would be conducted in order to attract more foreign tourists to the area.

Even without the promotion, more than 10,000 foreign tourists per year visit the caves in Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta including Grubug, Pindul and Jomblang caves, as well as the prehistoric volcano.

UNESCO delegate Guy Martini said the visit was official and aimed to examine what was needed so as to be able to propose the area to become part of the geopark. His team, he said, would also hold discussions and provide input on how the proposal should be prepared.

Regarding the potential of the karst area to be included in the global geopark, Martini said he was not yet in a position to explain a great deal because a number of aspects, including economic, sociocultural and environmental, needed to be taken into consideration.

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

Earlier this month, UNESCO designated Mount Batur in Bali as a world geopark.

Besides the Seribu Mountain range, the Indonesian government had also proposed four other sites — Merangin geopark in Jambi, which is rich in flora and fauna fossils; Lake Toba in North Sumatra; Raja Ampat, West Papua, which is well-known for its beautiful underwater vistas; and Mount Rinjani National Park in Lombok — as candidates to become the next UNESCO international geopark.