UN Decade of Ocean Science Supports BUDEE Maritime Expedition Activities in Banggai Waters, Maluku

Professor of IPB University, Prof Agus Saleh Atmadipoera recently made a proud achievement on the global stage. The coordinator of the Banggai Upwelling Dynamics and Ecosystem Experiment (BUDEE) marine expedition stated that this collaborative program had received official support from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) WESTPAC.

The BUDEE collaborative program received support as the United Nations (UN) Ocean Decade Program UN 24: Explore the Strongest Ocean Current in the Western Pacific: The 2nd Cooperative Study of Kuroshio and Adjacent Regions – From Its Sciences To Human Well Beings (CSK-2) .

In the official letter received by the BUDEE expedition team, the UN Decade of Ocean Science acknowledged and appreciated BUDEE's continuous and synergistic efforts in developing the Kuroshio cooperative study to broaden the body of knowledge towards sustainable development. This endorsement provides strong support for the research activities carried out by the expedition team.

“An extraordinary award for the BUDEE team. It is a high appreciation from IOC-WESTPAC to enter into official endorsement. This means that all our activities will be more structured in reporting so that they better meet the criteria requested by the UN Decades of Ocean Sciences," he said. Prof Agus himself was asked to update the activities that were being carried out and send them back to the IOC WESTPAC secretariat.

With the official endorsement from the UN Decade of Ocean Science, BUDEE's marine expedition activities are increasingly gaining global recognition and support. Prof Agus hopes that the findings and data collected during the BUDEE expedition can be used as a basis for developing effective policy recommendations in conserving and managing marine resources in this region.

In addition, Prof Agus believes that through various activities planned in BUDEE such as shipping, workshops and training, joint-lab analysis and co-supervisors will also support the IPB 5.0 plan: Resilient, Transformative and Sustainable.

"BUDEE is a step that is in line with the vision of IPB University as a techno-socio entrepreneurial university that excels at the global level in the fields of agriculture, marine science, tropical biosciences. Of course this program will create a sustainable positive impact in society," he said.

"IPB University's involvement in the BUDEE program together with a number of other agencies is a form of effort to build resilience and sustainability in the context of marine resource management," said Prof Agus.

The time frame for implementing the BUDEE program has started since September 2022, starting with a cruise (BUDEE Cruise 1) and is designed to last until 2025. The second cruise (BUDEE Cruise 2) is planned for 2024.

Together with a number of agencies involved such as the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Diponegoro University, University of Indonesia and Pattimura University, the BUDEE expedition team designed a multidisciplinary study of upwelling dynamics and marine ecosystems in Banggai Waters which includes physical and biogeochemical oceanography, paleo-upwelling , ichthioplankton and plankton eDNA, fishery acoustics and microplastic pollution.

"The availability of literature related to oceanographic conditions and marine ecosystems in Banggai Waters is quite limited. This underlies us (the BUDEE team) to conduct a comprehensive study with a multidisciplinary approach," continued Prof Agus in an interview some time ago.

This IPB University Professor from the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences (FPIK) explained that the data collected can also provide insight into the reconstruction of past climate upwelling patterns. This effort is carried out by analyzing sediment stratification and linking it to the level of abundance of upwelling in the past period.

Upwelling itself is one of the oceanographic processes that play an important role in fisheries. Considering that Banggai Waters has high fishery potential and is included in the maritime industrial area in Central Sulawesi, a good understanding of upwelling and fisheries processes is important to be able to formulate a more effective fisheries management strategy in Banggai Waters. (RAT/Rz) (IAAS/Res)