BPPT Launches NEONET
Saturday, 31 January, 2009 | 10:26 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Agency for the Assessment & Application of Technology (BPPT) has launched an earth-based network and information system, called the Nusantara Earth Observation Network (NEONet). The network is expected to become a provider of information and warnings of natural disasters.

BPPT director,Dr Marzan Azis Iskandar, said earth monitoring activities had been carried out by many agencies with limited results because there was no integrated and sustainable cooperation. “These activities are usually sector- and project-based,” Marzan said in Jakarta yesterday.

The lack of integrated activities produced weak results in disaster management, for instance concerning an early warning system, mitigation and impact management. Development planning and implementation do not take into account environmental and conservation aspects. “This is due to sectoral arrogance, lack of concern and an integrated forum,” Marzan said.

NEONet has been established to bridge the various monitoring activities. This collaborative monitoring network, Marzan said, is equipped with network server facilities, seismic server, and even a high-speed network to meet the technological requirements.
Within the NEONet collaboration, all related agencies work independently.

For example, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) monitors the weather, climate and earthquakes. The Forestry Department handles forest fires, the Agriculture Department monitors land drought, while the ESDM Department monitors volcanic activity.
Marzan hopes that one day NEONet can be like the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). “GEOSS provides a decision-making tool and it has been ratified by 60 countries,” he said. “We hope NEONet can be utilized as a decision-making reference as well.”

BPPT’s NEONet Monitoring Center also collaborates with the Agency for Marine Earth Science and Technology (Jamstec), Hydrometeorological Array for Interseasonal Variations Monsoon Austomonitoring (Harimau), Tropical Ocean Climate Study (TOCS), Disaster Risks Reduction Information System (SIRRMA), BMKG, and the Forestry Department in the process of expanding the network.

TJANDRA