Februari 2010
On Monday, February 1st, 2010, the Government of West Aceh Regency visited BAKOSURTANAL, in cooperation with the framework of assessment related to the development and application of science and geospatial technology. The visit led by Ramli, the Regent of West Aceh, accepted by Sukendra Martha, First Secretary of BAKOSURTANAL.
As manifestation of the visit, on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010, it was conducted the discussion of the MOU as the legal basis of the activities implementation that will be realized.
In this meeting, BAKOSURTANAL was chaired by Suwahyuono, the Head of Center for Marine Resources Surveys (PSSDAL) and as the Executing Person (Plt) for Deputy of Basic Surveys of Natural Resources. While West Aceh was represented by Edwardsyah (the Division of PDK2), Mulyadi (the Division of Law and Organization), and Said Mahjadi (Dean of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, University of Teuku Umar).
In this initial discussion, Suwahyuono hope that the cooperation will be carried out usefully, both for the development of human resources in academic and community development in surrounding areas. In fact, if it can be projected into the future, marine laboratory which will be realized can be a center of learning not only for the region of Aceh, but also for other areas in the West coast of Sumatra.
There has been much support for the implementation of this cooperation. BAKOSURTANAL and Germany built the sea tidal stations in Meulaboh and Tapaktuan, which is part of the Tsunami Early Warning System. Geospatial data along the western coast of Aceh is already available, which is the result of cooperation between Indonesia and Australia, and also between Indonesia and Norway. In addition, in 2011 or 2012, BAKOSURTANAL will likely conduct a bathymetry survey (in the area of ocean depth) in the west coast of Aceh.
The availability of data, facilities and infrastructure can be a starting point for the study or further application of this form of cooperation. Thus, the parties involved can obtain the benefit each other well.
By Agung Christianto
