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THE MINISTRY of National Development Planning (Bappenas) revealed how the UNESCO assessor will conduct the assessment after visiting Toba Geopark from July 21 to 25, 2025.
“What was recorded by the Provincial Tourism and Culture Office on the first day must have been good. However, regarding the results of the first day’s agenda, we have prepared and reviewed them last week,” said Togu Santoso Pardede, the Director of Mineral and Energy Resources at Bappenas on Thursday, July 24, 2025.
Togu explained that the core of the assessment would be on Friday morning, when two UNESCO assessors would provide feedback during the visit and review documents sent by the government, similar to an examination session.
After that, the assessors’ reports will be brought to the council session in Chile in September for discussion by UNESCO members.
According to the UNESCO website, the Global Geoparks Council consists of twelve members with voting rights. The Director General of UNESCO appoints them based on recommendations from the Global Geopark Network (GGN) and member countries.
“They are like the professor in a trial who decides whether to give a green or yellow card,” said Togu.
Separately, Fritz Rudolf Nababan, the Director of Tourism Destinations of the Lake Toba Authority Agency for Toba, said that the evaluation results could not be shared daily, despite some media reports that the lake water became turbid during the assessors’ visit.
The assessors still have a number of places to evaluate. They are scheduled to visit Karo Regency and Dairi Regency on Thursday (07/24).
He asked the public not to believe false news because the murky water was caused by a natural phenomenon: large waves lifting the lake’s sediment during the dry season.
“This is due to the long drought that hit North Sumatra,” said Fritz.
Meanwhile, Yuda Pratiwi Setiawan, the head of the Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy Office (Disbudparekraf) of North Sumatra Province, stated that the Toba Caldera Geopark received many positive assessments from the assessors.
Local governments and institutions related to the Toba Caldera Geopark have also received input from UNESCO. For example, evaluator José Brilha of Portugal recommended strengthening the protection of geopark heritage, including rock formations, historic locations, and other geological materials.
This encouraged the provincial government, the seven regency governments in the Lake Toba area, and other institutions to manage the Toba Caldera Geopark. [antaranews]
