A number of domestic tourists are seen enjoying the sunset at Bulbul Beach on Lake Toba in June 2024. - JP
JAKARTA: Indonesia has successfully retained Lake Toba’s status as a Unesco Global Geopark, following a previous yellow card warning issued two years ago because of concerns over poor management and governance of the North Sumatran lake.
In July, a Unesco assessment team conducted a five-day evaluation to determine whether Lake Toba met the criteria to maintain its Global Geopark designation.
On Saturday, during the 11th International Conference on Unesco Global Geoparks held in Kütralkura, Chile, the Unesco Executive Board officially announced its decision to issue a green card for Lake Toba.
The green card signifies the renewal of the Unesco Global Geopark status for another four years, confirming that improvements have been made to address earlier concerns.
North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution welcomed the green card decision, while urging the public to help protect and preserve Lake Toba.
“I’d like to thank all stakeholders, local officials and teams who have prepared for the assessment and implemented improvements based on Unesco’s recommendations. Now that Lake Toba maintained the Global Geopark status, it’s our responsibility to protect this gift from God,” he said on Tuesday.
Azizul Kholis, general manager of the Toba Caldera Unesco Global Geopark, expressed his gratitude for the decision, emphasising that it was the result of strong collaboration between the central government, the North Sumatra provincial administration and local authorities around Lake Toba.
“We hope this decision serves as motivation to further strengthen collaboration in managing Lake Toba. We also hope the geopark continues to bring real benefits to local communities,” he said on Sunday.
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 because of poor management and governance of Lake Toba, with Unesco evaluators citing limited involvement of local communities in sustainable tourism initiatives.
The Unesco revalidation process for Lake Toba’s Global Geopark status took place from July 21 to 25, amid widespread wildfires that swept across multiple regions of Sumatra. The fires scorched more than 100 hectares of land around lake Toba including on Samosir Island and claimed the life of a local farmer.
At the time authorities raised concerns that the disaster might negatively impact the evaluation and potentially put Lake Toba’s Unesco Global Geopark status at risk.
In addition to Lake Toba, the Unesco Executive Board also granted green cards to the Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu Geopark in Sukabumi, West Java, and the Rinjani Global Geopark in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, following their respective four-year revalidation assessments. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
