On August 12th, 2024, the Graduate School (SPs) and the Faculty of Geography at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) held the opening ceremony of the conference titled “The 5th Asian Transdisciplinary Karst Conference” in the 5th Floor Auditorium of the Graduate School Building at UGM. This conference brought together researchers, enthusiasts, and karst practitioners from various countries including Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Croatia, Italy, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Senegal, Slovenia, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Indonesia.
In his remarks, UGM Faculty of Geography Karst expert, Prof. Dr. Eko Haryono, M.Si., said, “This is the fifth Karst Conference, following the last one held in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic in the Philippines. This quadrennial conference aims to promote Karst knowledge in the Asian and Southeast Asian regions.” As a continent of mostly developing countries, Asia has tens of millions of people living in karst areas. The karst regions in Asia sustain livelihoods, provide water flow, and support agriculture to ensure the sustainability of their lives. This conference can raise awareness of the importance of planning the development of karst ecosystems to preserve biodiversity and play a role in disaster management systems.
This Karst Conference is attended by 96 participants, consisting of 46 international participants and 40 domestic participants, 35 speakers and presenters, and hosts six symposiums, namely the Karst Hydrology and Hydrogeology Symposium; Karst and Cave Biodiversity; Political and Socio-Cultural Aspects of Karst; Karst and Cave Management; Karst Geomorphology and Geology, Physical Speleology; and the Karst Cave Survey and Expedition Reports.
“Researchers, enthusiasts, and practitioners are invaluable resources for the development and protection of caves and karst. It is essential to bring them together from various cave and karst communities to share experiences, insights, knowledge, and to mutually raise awareness and contribute to the protection of cave and karst ecosystems in Asia and globally. Thank you to the committee for making this conference possible,” said the Dean of SPs UGM, Prof. Ir. Siti Malkhamah, M.Sc., Ph.D., who opened the conference.
Keywords: ecosystem protection, developing countries, development planning, disaster management, SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 10: Reduced Inequality, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Author: Asti Rahmaningrum