Prof Agus Saleh Atmadipoera Presented the BUDEE Research Contribution at the WestPac IOC-UNESCO Meeting in Thailand

Professor of Physical Oceanography, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences (FPIK) IPB University, Prof Agus Saleh Atmadipoera, recently left for Bangkok, Thailand to fulfill the invitation of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. In the Third Meeting of the International Steering Group for the Cooperative Study on Kuroshio and adjacent regions (CSK-2) and the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences program (2021-2030), Prof Agus explained Indonesia's contribution in the form of proposed new initiatives capable of contributing to CSK -2 and UN Decade of Ocean Sciences.

"I am presenting a proposal called the Banggai Upwelling Dynamics Ecosystem Experiment (BUDEE), which is currently being implemented and collaborated with various institutions in Indonesia," Prof Agus explained. According to Prof Agus, the proposed new initiative "BUDEE" has the potential to contribute to the development of this CSK-2 research.

"BUDEE is a complement to the very intensive CSK-2 activities in this part (Banggai) which is indeed very important because it is related to ENSO, Arlindo and so on," added Prof Agus. He explained, BUDEE 2022-2025 is a multidisciplinary study of the dynamics of upwelling and marine ecosystems in the Banggai Waters area in the Maluku Sea. This research covers several studies including physical and biogeochemical oceanography, paleo-upwelling, ichthioplankton and plankton eDNA, fishery acoustics, and microplastic pollution.

"This study was funded by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and involved a number of institutions. There was me from IPB University as the coordinator, Rina Zuraida and Prof Augy Syahailatua from the National Research and Innovation Agency/BRIN, Mufti Patria from the University of Indonesia, Widianingsih from Diponegoro University and Yunita Noya from Pattimura University," he stated.
According to him, the main activities of BUDEE include field surveys (voyage), data processing and sample analysis joint labs, capacity building, and sharing of datasets.

"So far, the first voyage has been carried out successfully on 1-18 September 2022 using the Baruna Jaya 8 Ship, and for the next voyage it is planned for 2024. For capacity building, I designed several post-cruise training series using Zoom and Youtube live streaming, with a wider range of participants for all institutions in Indonesia. Apart from that, I also propose capacity building in BUDEE in the form of internships, workshops, and co-supervisors," he explained.

With regard to the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences which was mandated by the UN General Assembly to IOC-UNESCO, he continued, the BUDEE program has been able to contribute to several of the 10 challenges. Which is challenge 2 (protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversity), challenge 5 (unlock ocean-based solutions to climate change), and challenge 9 (skills, knowledge and technology for all).
In the future, besides shipping, Pro. Agus plans several future activities such as research collaboration with CSK-2 colleagues and other potential colleagues, scientific publications, contributing datasets to NODC Indonesia, and developing physics-biogeochemistry coupling modeling with the CROCO model.

“I received lots of questions at the meeting, such as those related to capacity building and paleo-upwelling. Because we propose multidisciplinary studies, we also design a lot of activities in this BUDEE. Not only have many themes been produced, this has also expanded opportunities to join and contribute more to the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences," explained Prof Agus. (RAT/Zul) (IAAS/DSR)