Showing posts with label Krakatau. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Krakatau. Show all posts

Lampung Krakatau Festival 2018 - International Seminar on Krakatau




Anak Krakatau, Lampung
Anak Krakatau Volcano, from afar.

"Ma, what's the name of the Festival that you're coming to?"
Obi, my dearest daughter, asked me when we had dinner at my parent-in-law house.
"It's the Lampung Krakatau Festival, dek,"  I replied.
"Look, Obi, look..it's an active volcano!" said my boy, Bo. 
"What's a volcano?" replied Obi.
"Here, look...Krakatau erupted in 1883 and people in Europe heard that. Wow, that's awesome. Europe is so far away from here, right, ma? it must be one huge mountain!" Bo, my son explained further while showing the pictures from his gadget.
"You're lucky ma! you will see a lot of fireworks" exclaimed Obi as she looked at the photos of Krakatau's eruption recently.
Well, I know I will have an exciting adventure during Lampung Krakatau Festival 2018.
Lampung, here we come!

***


Anak Krakatau volcano, Lampung
do you see the cloud?
Krakatau.
Have you ever heard of this magnificent volcano?
Its eruption in 1883 had shocked the world as it was tremendous and the sound could be heard even as far as Europe.

Krakatau, or some call it Krakatoa, has long fascinated many, including scientists, researchers, experts as well as tourists. With its status as cagar alam or conservation area is maintained, this place welcomes those coming for research and educational purposes, with the permit from conservation and natural resources local body.


UNESCO World Heritage Site

As part of Lampung Krakatau Festival 2018, the International Seminar on Krakatau was held on August 24th, 2018 in Bukit Randu Hotel, Bandar Lampung. Highlighting volcanology of Krakatau and its beneficial usage in the future, the seminar invited 3 experts of Krakatau, including Prof. Tukirin Partomihardjo from LIPI or Indonesian Institute of Science; Dr. Ir. Igan S. Sutawidjaja from Padjadjaran University; and Dr. Mirzam Abdurrachman from Bandung Institute of Technology.

With other participants of the seminar. L is for Lampung, where Krakatau is located.

In the course of 5 hours, we listened, studied and learned more about Krakatau and its magnificent features. We learned how the ecosystem in Krakatau, particularly Anak Krakatau Island, developed. We saw the samples of native flora and fauna in the surrounding areas. We compared the composition and structure of this volcano over the years. We got more insights about the danger and potential hazards of Krakatau, which can erupt intensively and without warnings.




At the same time, we also considered the geotourism side of this volcano. 
The Islands of Krakatau itself comprises 4 different islands, namely Anak Krakatau, Sertung, Panjang and Rakata.
These 4 islands are unique and packed with interesting flora and fauna, which are impacted by the frequent eruption of Anak Krakatau.

The beaches there have black sand but still with turquoise, pristine water. 







Interestingly, we had quite a debate over keeping this incredible world heritage site untouched and closed for tourism , except for conservation and educational purposes, or as Krakatau has been very known across the continents, to give access to tourism as well. We cannot deny that people are intrigued to see Krakatau closer as it has interesting history and beautiful landscapes as well. Some believe that we still can keep and preserve the areas in its natural conservation nature while providing limited access to tourism in a sustainable way. Well, for sure, all relevant parties need to sit down together and discuss further to see the solution that can accommodate all the needs.



For sure,  in terms of world volcanoes distribution, Indonesia ranks no 2 with 15.6 % coverage consist of 129 volcanoes. Number one is Pacific, covering 61.8 % with 512 volcanoes spread across the area. Undoubtedly, we are part of the ring of fire! 
We saw in one of the slides that people were actually watching the moments of Anak Krakatau eruption from the nearby island which is located in the safe zone.

Check out the video of the seminar in my YouTube account





We continued the seminar with educational trip and observation to Anak Krakatau Volcano the following day. As you now, this volcano is literally active and just weeks before it erupted! But by the time we were scheduled to visit this majestic volcano, Anak Krakatau was in a better mood. 


See you in the next post :)

Well, it was quite an experience to be so close to an active volcano and I will surely share that in the next post