The partners below are all playing an active role working with NOAA to make the INDEX 2010: “Indonesia-USA Deep-Sea Exploration of the Sangihe Talaud Region” expedition a success.
KKP is one of NOAA’s two primary government partners in the Republic of Indonesia. Dr. Sugiarta Wirasantosa, Indonesia’s Co-Principal Investigator for INDEX-SATAL 2010, recently retired from a senior management position with KKP’s Agency for Marine and Fisheries Research. The Jakarta Exploration Command Center (ECC) is also located at the Agency for Marine and Fisheries Research in North Jakarta. KKP is responsible for fisheries research, management, and enforcement as well as coastal zone management, climate change impacts on coastal communities, marine protected areas, and other issues. KKP led Indonesia’s World Ocean Conference effort in 2009 and hosts the Coral Triangle Initiative secretariat.
BPPT is one of NOAA’s two primary government partners in the Republic of Indonesia. BPPT operates the Research Vessel Baruna Jaya IV. Their scientific and operational expertise has been critical to INDEX-SATAL 2010 preparations. BPPT’s mission is to develop new technologies and industrial processes, then transfer them to the private sector. The agency is responsible for a broad range of research and development activities to promote Indonesian industrial capacity and to implement Government of Indonesia priority programs such as tsunameter development. BPPT operates Indonesia’s buoy network, including tsunameters. BPPT also operates a fleet of four ocean-going research vessels, including the Baruna Jaya IV, and is a significant U.S. and regional cooperator in buoy deployments, surveys, scientific cruises, and other ship-based activities.
U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron Hume views INDEX-SATAL 2010 as an example of a science and technology partnership that benefits both Indonesia and the U.S. The Okeanos Explorer visit to Indonesia has been an Embassy priority for the past 18 months. Ambassador Hume has focused on science and technology, education, climate change, and ocean issues to advance the Indonesia-U.S. bilateral relationship. INDEX-SATAL 2010 would not be possible without the Ambassador’s vision and support. The Ambassador heads the U.S. diplomatic mission to Indonesia and is the personal representative of President Obama.
The Exploratorium is San Francisco’s most prominent science museum, drawing visitors from across the country and around the globe. It has been at the forefront of developing technology-based education programs that reach remote audiences worldwide and explore the use of new media in public learning environments. With an annual attendance is over half a million, the museum’s impact is extended to approximately 20 million people per year through the dissemination of its exhibits and programs to other museums. NOAA and the Exploratorium have joined together in a formal partnership, the first-ever agency-wide agreement with a museum of this type that will enable NOAA science to be communicated to the public in novel ways to enhance climate and ocean science literacy.
NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research has partnered with SeaWorld Indonesia to bring the excitement of the INDEX-SATAL 2010 mission to children and other visitors to the facility. An educational brochure and special activity-based fact sheets have been developed to help raise public awareness of the importance of exploring Indonesia’s deep sea. Using the brochure at SeaWorld Indonesia, Indonesian students can promise to become a Duta Samudra, or Sea Scout. In doing so, they will receive a wristband with DUTA SAMUDRA imprinted on it, as they promise to think about Indonesia’s ocean every day, learn something new about the ocean every day, and tell someone else about Indonesia’s deep ocean every day. The Duta Samudra program kicked off during a Camping Under the Sea Program in June when children had the opportunity to spend the night at SeaWorld Indonesia and snorkel in the main aquarium the next day. The INDEX-SATAL Activity-based Fact Sheets are available in both Bahasa Indonesian and English.
