TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia has been appointed as a member of the executive council of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) for the 2017-2019 period. The decision was made during its 29th assembly meeting at UNESCO HQ in Paris on June 21-29.
“As a member of the executive council of the IOC-UNESCO, the government must improve its management, facility, and infrastructure of maritime science and technology as well as the strategic maritime research program,” said the deputy assistant of science and technology at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs Nani Hendiarti Friday, June 30.
Indonesia had lobbied for the position since the Informal Consultation Process on the Effects of Climate Change on Oceans was held at the UN Headquarters in New York on May 15-19 and the World Ocean Conference on June 5-9 this year.
The new position will also help Indonesia, as the largest archipelago state in the Asia-Pacific region, to pursue its goal of becoming a global maritime axis, she added.
Indonesia would need to have a national scale ocean data center, which will be the nation’s contribution in the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange or IODE. This will build young researcher’s capacity and literacy.
Nani is one of the members of Indonesia’s delegation in the 29th IOC-UNESCO assembly meeting. The IOC-UNESCO executive council represents 334 member countries in Asia and the Pacific regions. The Council members are Indonesia, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Thailand, and China.
ANTARA
