In an effort to increase awareness and arrange mitigation and adaptation of climate change in Indonesia, Bureau of International Cooperation (BKLN) Faculty of Geography UGM in collaboration with UNIKA Soegijapranata and Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, held a workshop entitled Climate and Environmental Change and Their Impacts on Livehoods, Mobility, and Regional Development. The event is held for ten days, 20-30 June 2011.
The workshop presented speakers, among others are, Prof. Dr. HA. Sudibyakto, M.S., Prof. Dr. R.Rijanta, M.Sc., Dr. Eko Haryono, Dr. Danang Sri Hadmoko and Dr. Muh Aris Marfai from Faculty of Geography UGM. It also presented Dr. Wijanto Hadipuro and Dr. Tjahjono Rahardjo from UNIKA Soegijapranata, and Dr. Lothar Smith and Dr. Martin van der Velde from Radboud University Nijmegen.
Chairman of the Bureau, Dr. Muh Aris Marfai, M.Sc., said that the workshop is held to provide opportunities for interdisciplinary research activities in studying climate change impacts in Indonesia. The research is conducted through case studies on rural and urban areas in Java Island. "The case study mainly focuses on adaptive capacity of rural and urban residents to be able to survive in facing the impact of climate change," he explained on Thursday (23/6).
In addition to the material in the classroom, Aris said that it will also hold field practice in two regions, namely Gunungkidul and the coastal city of Semarang. The fieldwork activity will last for three days, 25-27 June 2011. From this activity, participants are expected to understand the basic concepts of climate change, factors that affect climate variability, and the impact of climate change on society. "Participants are also expected to demonstrate their ability to identify the adaptive capacity of communities to survive from climate change," he concluded.