Jakarta, Geospatial News - The Geospatial Information Agency (BIG) and the Technology Assessment and Application Agency (BPPT) has completed a survey of the Indonesian Continental Shelf (LKI) area in northern Papua. As a result, Indonesia's territory has the potential to grow as large as the island of Sulawesi.
"Based on GEBCO (The General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans) global data, the technical team found natural evidence of a saddle or 'bridge' configuration in the subduction zone that connects Papua with the eauripic rise in the Pacific Ocean. This means that Indonesia has supporting data to claim the continental shelf. beyond 200 miles covering 196,508 square kilometers or the size of Sulawesi Island, "explained the Head of the Center for Marine and Environmental Mapping of the BIG Beach Yosef Dwi Sigit Purnomo when submitting the results of the IFI survey activities in northern Papua at Grand Sahid Jaya, Jakarta, Wednesday, October 29, 2019.
Yosef added the survey team had determined the position of the foot of slope (FOS) to be used for delimitation of the outer boundary of the continental shelf extension in northern Papua. The bathymetry data produced is expected to be able to complete the IFI submission documents in northern Papua that have been submitted to the United Nations (UN) in 2019.
"The submission of the continental shelf extends to the northern region of Papua will be submitted by Indonesia during the 50th session of the Commission on the Continental Shelf Limit or CLCS (Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf) in New York held between January-March 2020," explained the Deputy for Basic Geospatial Information BIG Mohamad Arief Syafii.
For information, the IFI survey in the northern region of Papua was conducted in July-October 2019. This survey is to prepare primary bathymetry data and determine the limit on the additional IFI area. (FP / TR / YDS / NIN)
