PRESS RELEASE

COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA TEAM OF THE 10TH WORLD WATER FORUM

NO.117/SP/TKM-WORLDWATERFORUM2024/05/2024   

10^th World Water Forum Encourages Collaboration on Disaster Early Warning 

The significance of early warning systems for disasters across the globe was emphasized at the High-Level Panel at the 10^th World Water Forum series of events at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center in Bali.

Head of the Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati emphasized that we must not experience another failure like when facing a catastrophic event such as the Aceh tsunami, which occurred when Indonesia had no early warning system at all.

The Aceh tsunami that occurred 20 years ago is still a nightmare. At that time, most Indonesians did not know what a tsunami was. "Even as a geologist, I only knew about tsunamis from textbooks. When it happened, it was like we lost our minds," said Dwikorita, who also serves on the Executive Council of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in the 8^th high-level panel on the topic "Early Warning for All," on Monday (20 May).

The incident led to hundreds of thousands of lost lives in Indonesia and across the globe with billions of dollars’ worth in losses. This event prompted Indonesia to undergo significant changes, including the implementation of a digital system and the passing of Law Number 24 of 2007, which focuses on Disaster Management. Additionally, the government introduced a curriculum for schools to educate students about tsunami disasters.

Reflecting on this, the panelists emphasized the need for international cooperation and collaboration to achieve “Early Warning for All.”

The panelists from various international organizations exchanged views and experiences regarding early warning systems. They included the Chairman of the Asia Pacific Water Forum, Changhua Wu; the President of the 77^th Session of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Korosi; the Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Prof. Dr. Celeste Saulo; the UNESCO Assistant Director General for Natural Resources, Dr. Lidia Arthur Brito; the Deputy Minister of Transport and Tourism for Land Infrastructure of Japan, Koyari Takashi; and the Executive Secretary and CEO of Global Water Partnership, Alan AtKisson.

On the same occasion, the Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, and Chairman of the African Ministerial Council for Water (AMCOW), Prof. Dr. Hani Atef Nabhan Sweilam, talks about his successful implementation of early warning systems in Africa. (Natalia Santi/Firda Puri / TR/Elvira Inda Sari/MZT/PR)

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For further information, please contact: 

Director General of Public Information and Communications of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics – Usman Kansong (0816785320).

PCO of the   10^th World Water Forum - Dede Ariwibowo (08111830020).

Get more information at  https://infopublik.id/detik/world-water-forum   and   https://s.id/worldwaterforumpedia