Author(s)

TEUKU MUKHLIS, TEUKU SYAKUR, DIAN BUDI DHARMA, JOHANNES ANHORN

Abstract

Indonesia is located in a region highly prone to geological hazards due to its position on the convergence zone of three different tectonic plates. The convergence zone of the Indo-Australian plate and the Eurasian plate extends along the west coast of Sumatra Island and is marked by the Sunda Arc and the Sumatra Fault, with high levels of seismicity and volcanic activity. One lesson learnt from the Tsunami that struck Aceh Province on 26 December 2004 and caused massive-scale destruction and loss of lives (mostly women and children), is that understanding the various vulnerabilities of the Indonesian society, raising awareness of geological hazard exposition, and educating school children in disaster preparedness and response plays an important role for disaster mitigation. Building disaster resilience is an essential but challenging task for the Indonesian Government. To raise and maintain awareness, not only of the public, but also institutional wise is a challenge for national and local governments in Indonesia. In order to cope with these challenges, the Indonesian government works with the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in a development cooperation project. The so called “Geomobil” is a mobile education and training facility which tackles playful capacity building for geological hazards in schools. It is one example of preparedness and awareness raising, managed by the Provincial Department for Mining and Energy of Aceh. The Geomobil regularly conducts visits to elementary schools throughout the province accompanied by professionals. Using theoretical and practical learning elements, pupils are enabled to understand the existing geological hazards and train how to safeguard themselves. This best practice example from Indonesian governmental institution shows how important effective information and training concepts are to build resilience within the society.

Keywords

geological hazards, awareness raising, preparedness, mitigation, training, Geomobil, school, tsunami