Indonesian govt issues regulation to protect geological heritage

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Located in the Ring of Fire, between two oceans and continents, Indonesia has diverse and unique geological features.

As those natural resources are valuable, they are frequently exploited, and hence cannot be passed on to the next generation.

Therefore, the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has issued the Ministerial Regulation No. 1 of 2020 which regulates the determination of geological heritage.

A statement from the ministry quoted by Indonesia Window here on Monday mentioned that the new regulation was a legal force in determining earth features as geological heritages.

Ministry’s spokesperson Agung Pribadi said the regulation could protect and at the same time utilize the national geological heritages.

“This regulation is very helpful in determining a geoheritage as well as knowing the historical track record contained therein,” Agung explained.

According to him, preservation of geological heritage will contribute to the development of geoparks in a sustainable manner for research and geotourism as well.

“The determination of geoheritage is also used to implement the Presidential Regulation No. 9 of 2019 concerning Geopark Development,” he explained.

A prospectus geoheritage would be submitted by the governor along with an inventory of geological diversity and the map.

“The proposal will be identified, verified and determined by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources through the Head of the Geological Agency,” Agung explained.

The geoheritage will be identified by making criteria, comparison, classification and through focus group discussions.

The identification process will involve other parties who have competence in the field of geology.

“The determination of the geoheritage will consider aspects of priority, data completeness and budget,” Agung said, adding that the government would issue technical recommendations on the utilization of the geosite.

The geoheritage information system will be managed by the Geological Agency, both online and offline.

Reporting by Indonesia Window