The main goal of the geopark is to conserve the Meratus Mountains (environment) and explore the economic value for local people through its natural as well as cultural wealthBanjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The Meratus Geopark Management Agency emphasized that edifying people residing around the Meratus Mountains, South Kalimantan, is crucial to raising awareness on the importance of the geological heritage and deriving economic benefits of the geopark.
The readiness of local people is crucial in the development of a geopark, the agency's head, Nurul Fajar Desira, stated during a meeting with Dangsanak Geopark Meratus in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, on Monday.
"The main goal of the geopark is to conserve the Meratus Mountains (environment) and explore the economic value for local people through its natural as well as cultural wealth," he affirmed.
Dangsanak Geopark Meratus is a volunteer group, with members constituting environment activists, students, academicians, businesspersons, media workers, and local figures harboring a common concern on preservation of the environment in South Kalimantan.
Fajar, who is concurrently head of the South Kalimantan Provincial Development Planning Agency (Bappeda), supports the establishment of the group that is expected to become a partner for the agency in developing the geopark.
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The South Kalimantan government has submitted a proposal for the Meratus Geopark to gain the UGG status. The UN body will conduct the evaluation in 2022.
Meratus Mountains that already gained the national geopark status in 2018, have 74 potential geosites located in nine districts and cities, including Tabalong, Balangan, Central and South Hulu Sungai, Tapin, Banjar, and Kotabaru.
The government has made various efforts to gain the UGG status by improving public facilities at the geosites and raising awareness in schools and communities, among others.
It also builds networks with other national and global geoparks, Fajar noted.
Fajar believes it is important for local people to have sound knowledge of the geological conditions in their respective regions, so they can become involved in the management of the geosites while adding that the 200-million-year-old Meratus Mountains have a complex geological history.
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"The Meratus Geopark will also be included in the school curriculum, from elementary to senior high school," he affirmed.
Chief of the Dangsanak Geopark Meratus M. Farid Soufian expressed the group's readiness to support the Meratus Geopark to gain the UGG status.
"Our concern is preservation of the environment at the Meratus Geopark," he noted.
The group is ready to train local people on tourism management.
"We will have a coordinator in each district to reach the local people," he stated.
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Reporter: Sri Haryati
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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