Udayana University Tourism Faculty Lecturer Becomes Resource Person for Disaster Risk Reduction Workshop in Japan

In an effort to establish closer partnerships and cooperation between the people of Bali and Japan's Yamanashi Province, the Mount Fuji Research Institute held a workshop at the MFRI Yamanashi office on Thursday 27 June 2024. There were several speakers from Bali who were invited as speakers on this occasion, including the Head of BPBD Karangasem Regency, representative of the Bali Disaster Risk Reduction Forum, Dewi Anggreni, Principal of SD 3 Sebudi Karangasem, and tourism and disaster observer from the Faculty of Tourism, Udayana University (Unud), Dr. Nyoman Sukma Arida, M.Sc.

Head of the MFRI Research Team, Dr. Yoshimoto in the opening said that this workshop aims to share experiences between both parties in responding to eruption disasters on two mountains, namely Mount Agung and Mount Fuji. "Mount Fuji last erupted 300 years ago, so the surrounding community needs to get information about mitigation and emergency response from the people of Bali who just experienced an eruption several years ago," he said.

Head of BPBD Karangasem, Ida Ketut Arimbawa, M.Si said that in dealing with the eruption of Mount Agung, the government and the community worked together to take mitigation steps and emergency dates with all the limited funds available. Meanwhile, the FPRB emphasizes the importance of disaster education for elementary school students so that disaster knowledge becomes a hidden memory and reappears when a disaster occurs.

Sukma Arida provided the experience of the government and the tourism industry in Bali when dealing with the eruption of Mount Agung. "Even though there are a few obstacles in conveying information to tourists, this can be resolved after 2 weeks of the eruption," he said.

MFRI Director Prof. Fuji expressed his appreciation to the delegation of Balinese people who had come to Japan and shared their experiences and insights about Mount Agung. He also expressed his gratitude to the campuses that were willing to collaborate with MFRI, namely Gadjah Mada University and Udayana University. Apart from the workshop activities, the delegation also had the opportunity to visit several Fuji disaster and cultural museums around the city of Kawaguchiko.