Dutch and Indonesian institutes intensify collaboration on water, weather and climate forecasts

Nine Dutch and Indonesian institutes agreed on a Joint Cooperation Programme for analysis of consistent data sets for water management in Indonesia. 

The agreement was signed on 22 November in Jakarta. The signing ceremony was attended by Andi Eka Sakya, secretary general of Badan Meteorologi dan Geofisika (BMG) (on photo back left) and Lilianne Ploumen, Dutch minister for foreign trade and development co-operation (back right).

The institutes from the Netherlands are:
● national meteorological institute, KNMI
● research institute for water, subsurface and infrastructure, Deltares
● research institute for our green living environment, Alterra Wageningen UR
● faculty of geo-information science and earth observation, University of Twente (ITC)

The Indonesian and their Dutch 'sister institutes' are:
● meteorological, climatological and geophysical agency, Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika, BMKG
● research and development  center for water resources, PusAir (Deltares)
● national geospatial information agency, Badan Informasi Geospasial, BIG (ITC)
● center for agricultural land resources research and development, Badan Pengembangan dan Penelitian Balai Besar Sumberdaya Lahan Pertanian, BBSDLP (Alterra)

The non-departmental government agency Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi (BPPT) will also be involved in the JCP.

Working together on data and forecast systems
Indonesia has water management problems that include land subsidence, groundwater extraction, flooding and drought. Research institutes in the Netherlands and Indonesia plan to work together even more closely to develop solutions for the near future.

The aim of the agreement is to bring together Dutch and Indonesian partners throughout the sector of weather and climate data, water management and safety, spatial planning and applications in agriculture.

The JCP will focus on establishing access to, and analysing, consistent data sets for water management in Indonesia (hydrological, meteorological and climate-related), studying specific problem areas such as land subsidence and groundwater extraction (for Jakarta and other locations), drainage in peatland areas on Sumatra and Kalimantan, and climate change.

A forecast system for flooding and drought will also be developed.

Extension of the alliance
This new agreement is an extension of the alliance between Deltares, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) and PusAir, which was launched in 2011.

The first phase of the JCP will include work on an operational forecasting system for flooding in Jakarta, climate series for Jakarta and a drought information system.

This news item is based on presse releases on the websites of Deltares, Alterra, KNMI.

Read more on this website on the Dutch economic mission to Indonesia lead by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Co-operation Lilianne Ploumen:
● Indonesian students strongly encouraged to contribute new ideas for Jakarta Bay, 26 November 2013
● Paques signs MoU with Indonesian oil company Pertamina for cooperation on treatment of bleed water, 25 November 2013
● New Garuda shaped master plan gives Jakarta new perspective on coastal city development, 22 November 2013
● Tirasa and Royal HaskoningDHV initiate cooperation for building small scale hydropower plants in Indonesia, 22 November 2013
● Van Oord contracted to construct five islands in port of Surabaya, Indonesia, 21 November 2013
● Dutch water sector intensifies Jakarta collaboration, 20 November 2013

More information
Deltares
Delft, the Netherlands
+ 31 15 285 8585
www.deltares.nl

Alterra Wageningen UR
Wageningen, the Netherlands
+31 317 480 700
www.alterra.nl

University of Twente
Faculty of geo-information science and earth observation (ITC)
Enschede, the Netherlands
+31 53 487 4444
www.itc.nl

KNMI
De Bilt, the Netherlands
+31 30 2206911
www.knmi.nl