The Banggai Regency Government and Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) have agreed to collaborate. Banggai Regent Amirudin and UGM Secretary Dr. Andi Sandi Antonius Tabusassa Tonralipu signed the agreement covering education, research, and community service.
This collaborative agreement is a follow-up to the cooperation between Banggai Regency and UGM through an agreement or contract between the Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of Banggai Regency and the UGM Center for Tourism Studies in 2018 regarding the Provision of Academic Manuscripts and Draft Regional Regulations on the Master Plan for Regional Tourism Development in Banggai Regency.
Joint agreements with the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Geography will follow this collaboration. Collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering will focus on geopark study activities in Banggai Regency, while partnership with the Faculty of Geography is planned for joint activities in urban water resources studies in Banggai Regency.
Regent Amirudin expressed gratitude for the opportunity to collaborate with UGM and hopes to realize several potentials that Banggai Regency possesses for the community’s welfare. Regarding urban water resources, he mentioned that Banggai Regency greatly needs this collaboration because it has significant potential.
Banggai Regency has vast water resources potential, earning it the nickname “water city.” This potential has been abundant from the past until now; unfortunately, it has not been well researched and utilized, resulting in some communities still experiencing water shortages.
“When I first took office as regent, in every speech, I always referred to Banggai Regency as a water city. But unfortunately, some communities complained about not having water,” he said at the UGM Rector’s Office on Thursday (Mar. 28).
“However, recently, after traveling and seeing the condition of the forests and urban areas, it turns out that, indeed, there are quite a lot of water sources, but they need to be researched so they can be utilized by all residents of Banggai Regency, especially in urban areas.”
Regarding the condition of the geopark, he mentioned it as one of Banggai Regency’s potentials. PT Pertamina and several other private companies have previously collaborated on this geopark potential, and they are willing to allocate their CSR funds to develop it. This underlies Banggai Regency’s collaboration with UGM to research this geopark’s potential further.
“Hopefully, this can be sustainable in fulfilling the desires of the regency government and the Banggai community. Hopefully, we can develop this into a new economy for the people,” he added.
UGM Secretary Dr. Tonralipu also expressed gratitude. He mentioned that many collaborations have been made with Banggai Regency, primarily through the UGM Center for Tourism Studies.
“Indeed, there have been many studies like this at UGM. We also have experts in water harvesting, such as Professor Agus Maryono. With his technology, the water does not cause floods but can be harvested,” he explained.
As the current collaboration is at the university level, he hopes it can be followed up at the faculty level. Some research results at UGM are considered applicable to be implemented in regions/cities throughout Indonesia.
Dr. Tonralipu mentioned that the research conducted by UGM is not only academically based but also involves researchers, lecturers, and students conducting research in various regions. Therefore, he hopes Banggai Regency will open its doors again to UGM students conducting the Community Service Program (KKN-PPM) there.
“We want to go back there. KKN-PPM is an initiative from UGM, and several other universities are also implementing it. It is a mandatory course here,” he explained.
Author: Agung Nugroho
Photographer: Firsto