Jakarta, Indonesia - After more than 70 years of relying on Dutch cartographers, Indonesia on Thursday finally issued its first official national atlas based on its own research.
Published by the National Coordinating Agency for Surveys and Mapping, or Bakosurtanal, and titled the National Atlas of Indonesia, or Atlas Nasional Indonesia, the atlas took about two years to compile and received input from several ministries and prominent state universities, said Rudolf W. Matindas, the agency`s head.
The atlas cost Rp 2 billion ($122,000) to produce.
“Yes, we took our time getting it out, hence the name `At Last,`?” Kusmayanto Kadiman, State Minister for Research and Technology, said.
Rudolf said that Indonesia had never published its own state map before. Instead, he said the nation had relied on maps made by the Dutch in 1938. He said the Dutch maps had never been revised. He said the maps currently in use were drawn from the Dutch maps with amendments make by foreign experts.
He said that the agency had planned to come out with a new atlas before but that changes had taken place so rapidly that the work had to be continually revised and updated.
Rudolf said that research included a study of Indonesian borders with neighboring countries, which he said had been delineated in compliance with international laws so that they would not give rise to border disputes.
“This is our first edition, the second and the third will follow in the near future, each with a different focus,” he said.
The atlas is a compilation of thematic maps, images, narration, and factual information relating to Indonesia and its natural resources.
The atlas is almost the size of a broadsheet newspaper and has 160 pages.
The agency will distribute the first 800 copies to government ministries, while a number will go to the private sector.
The 1:250,000-scale map is also available on CD, while a digital version will soon be available over the Internet, Kusmayanto said.
The first atlas has information on climate, geology, volcanoes, the coast, geomorphology, disaster-prone areas, land cover, wetlands and conservation.
The second edition, scheduled to come out in 2011, will focus on the nation`s resources. While the third, planned for 2013, will have information on history, ethnic groups, languages and culture.
Dorojatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, a senior lecturer at the University of Indonesia, said during the launch that knowledge of geography was essential when discussing geostrategies, geopolitics and geo-economics.
“A natural resources map is fine. But we need to also have maps on human resources and man-made resources,” he said.
Kusmayanto said that detailed maps, if accompanied with additional information, help a government to more fully exploit its country`s natural resources.
However, he said many Indonesians were poor map readers.
He said the agency should therefore work with the Ministry of National Education to introduce the map to educational institutions.
“They should introduce it to our students at schools,” he said.
“The current form is probably too hard for students, we will think of ways to make it more intelligible for them.”
Source: TheJakartaGlobe.com
Published by the National Coordinating Agency for Surveys and Mapping, or Bakosurtanal, and titled the National Atlas of Indonesia, or Atlas Nasional Indonesia, the atlas took about two years to compile and received input from several ministries and prominent state universities, said Rudolf W. Matindas, the agency`s head.
The atlas cost Rp 2 billion ($122,000) to produce.
“Yes, we took our time getting it out, hence the name `At Last,`?” Kusmayanto Kadiman, State Minister for Research and Technology, said.
Rudolf said that Indonesia had never published its own state map before. Instead, he said the nation had relied on maps made by the Dutch in 1938. He said the Dutch maps had never been revised. He said the maps currently in use were drawn from the Dutch maps with amendments make by foreign experts.
He said that the agency had planned to come out with a new atlas before but that changes had taken place so rapidly that the work had to be continually revised and updated.
Rudolf said that research included a study of Indonesian borders with neighboring countries, which he said had been delineated in compliance with international laws so that they would not give rise to border disputes.
“This is our first edition, the second and the third will follow in the near future, each with a different focus,” he said.
The atlas is a compilation of thematic maps, images, narration, and factual information relating to Indonesia and its natural resources.
The atlas is almost the size of a broadsheet newspaper and has 160 pages.
The agency will distribute the first 800 copies to government ministries, while a number will go to the private sector.
The 1:250,000-scale map is also available on CD, while a digital version will soon be available over the Internet, Kusmayanto said.
The first atlas has information on climate, geology, volcanoes, the coast, geomorphology, disaster-prone areas, land cover, wetlands and conservation.
The second edition, scheduled to come out in 2011, will focus on the nation`s resources. While the third, planned for 2013, will have information on history, ethnic groups, languages and culture.
Dorojatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, a senior lecturer at the University of Indonesia, said during the launch that knowledge of geography was essential when discussing geostrategies, geopolitics and geo-economics.
“A natural resources map is fine. But we need to also have maps on human resources and man-made resources,” he said.
Kusmayanto said that detailed maps, if accompanied with additional information, help a government to more fully exploit its country`s natural resources.
However, he said many Indonesians were poor map readers.
He said the agency should therefore work with the Ministry of National Education to introduce the map to educational institutions.
“They should introduce it to our students at schools,” he said.
“The current form is probably too hard for students, we will think of ways to make it more intelligible for them.”
Source: TheJakartaGlobe.com
