Apart from defining the total number of Indonesian islands, the coordination meeting also agreed to follow-up actions planned for 2022 to conduct investigation on islands through collaboration with related ministries, institutions, and the regional gJakarta (ANTARA) - The national Geospatial Information Agency (BIG) concurred during a coordination meeting on data on national islands that Indonesia has precisely 17 thousand islands in total.
"Apart from defining the total number of Indonesian islands, the coordination meeting also agreed to follow-up actions planned for 2022 to conduct investigation on islands through collaboration with related ministries, institutions, and the regional government," Chairperson of the Maritime Mapping and Beach Centre of the BIG Yosef Dwi Sigit Purnomo stated here on Monday.
Through confirmation on the total number of islands reaching 17 thousand, the country recorded an increase of 229 new islands as compared to the 2020 national gazette that recorded 16,771 islands in Indonesia.
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Purnomo stated that his agency still required to complete the verification process on the recorded islands, including examining island changes by reclamation or removing misidentified objects from the list.
The agency will also complete the 2021-2022 toponymic survey, verify the survey data submitted by the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry in 2021, and await the completion of island-related data from the regional governments, he explained.
A follow-up discussion on the definition of an island should be conducted that involves the central government, ministries, and regional governments to ensure a unified comprehension of the definition of islands and to address related issues, for instance, concerning the contested definition and status of reclaimed islands, Purnomo remarked.
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According to article 1 (3) of Law No. 32 of 2014 on Maritime Affairs, an island is defined as a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide -- in line with Article 121 (1) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defining island.
The 2021 Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia, which recorded the complete list of islands in Indonesia, is expected to be published on November 30, 2021, after examination and cross-checking stages.
The coordination meeting on the national islands data was attended by the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime and Investment Affairs, Home Affairs Ministry, Maritime and Fisheries Affairs Ministry, and the Indonesian Navy's Hydro-Oceanography Centre.
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Translator: Martha HS, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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