JAKARTA: Unesco assessors have begun the revalidation process of Lake Toba in North Sumatra, as local authorities strive to maintain the site’s Global Geopark status following a “yellow card” warning issued in 2023.
Azizul Kholis, general manager of the Toba Caldera Global Geopark Management, said the revalidation process aims to ensure that Lake Toba Geopark meets Unesco’s standards.
“The assessment will span five days, from Monday to Friday. Unesco assessors Jose Brilha from Portugal and Jeon Yong Mun from South Korea will visit key sites across several regencies around Lake Toba,” he said on Monday.
“While they won’t cover all 16 geosites in Lake Toba, the assessors will focus on representative areas showcasing the region’s geology, biology and cultural heritage,” he added.
Covering more than 1,145sq km and reaching depths of up to 450m, Lake Toba is the world’s largest volcanic crater lake and one of the deepest lakes globally. It is also the largest lake in South-East Asia, renowned for its stunning natural beauty and the prominent Samosir Island situated at its centre.
The body of water was created by a super-volcanic eruption some 74,000 years ago, the impacts of which reached Africa and Europe. The eruption is believed to have been the largest in the past two million years.
Unesco granted Global Geopark status to the Toba Caldera in 2020, following a nine-year effort by the Indonesian government.
The proposal was first submitted in 2011 but faced two rejections, in 2014 and again in 2017, before finally being approved.
However, just three years after receiving the designation, the Toba Caldera was issued a yellow card by Unesco. A yellow card is a formal warning issued by Unesco during its four-year revalidation cycle, signalling that a Geopark no longer meets required standards.
The designation comes with a two-year grace period to address the identified shortages. Failure to make substantial improvements within that time may lead to a “red card”, which results in the loss of Unesco Global Geopark status.
The Tourism Ministry said the yellow card warning was issued due to poor management and governance of Lake Toba, with Unesco evaluators citing limited involvement of local communities in sustainable tourism initiatives.
The site also lacks standardised information at its geosites and sufficient supporting infrastructure.
Unesco has also demanded ongoing research at the geosites, stronger collaboration among relevant institutions and improved education on the geological, biological and cultural significance of Lake Toba.
Yudha Pratiwi, head of North Sumatra’s Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy Agency, expressed concern that recent forest and land fires on Samosir Island could jeopardise the ongoing Unesco revalidation process.
“However, we anticipated the risk and have taken appropriate measures to address it,” he said.
Forest fires are raging across several parts of Sumatra as the dry season intensifies, including in North Sumatra.
Since the beginning of the month, wildfires have scorched more than 100 hectares of land on Samosir Island and in areas surrounding Lake Toba.
The fires have also claimed the life of a farmer in Parsingguran II village, Humbang Hasundutan regency.
The North Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has deployed four firefighting teams to wildfire-prone areas as a precaution, particularly in locations set to be visited by Unesco assessors, officials said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
