Indonesia - Italy Round Table on

“Ecohydrology: River Load and Eutrophication”

In collaboration with UNESCO Office, Jakarta

Jakarta, 21-22 June 2004

At

LIPI - Jakarta

Widya Graha Building, Ground Floor

Jl. Gatot Subroto, 10 - Jakarta 12710

The overloading of rivers and coastal waters with nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon) can result in a series of adverse effects known as eutrophication. The unbalanced ecosystem and changed chemical composition make the water body unsuitable for human uses and consumption. In many catchments, runoff from agricultural land is the principal source of nitrogen pollution. For phosphorus, households and industry tend to be the most significant sources.

The main objective of the meeting will be the exchange of scientific experiences and methodologies on freshwater and coastal ecosystems management. In particular, the round-table focused on scientific assessment, cause-effect relations, innovative methodology, and remediation strategies of eutrophication.

This Round Table is organized under the umbrella of the Executive Programme (2004-2007) of S&T cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the Italian Republic. The meeting is jointly organized by the Ministry of Research and Technology (RISTEK), the Embassy of Italy in Jakarta and the UNESCO Office, Jakarta (Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific), in collaboration with the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) - Limnology Research Centre, the Italian National Research Council (CNR):Water Research Institute-IRSA and Institute of Ecosystem Study-ISE, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment (ENEA) and the Italian Institute of Culture (IIC – Jakarta).

Starting from a common scientific background between the Italian and the Indonesian counterparts and having the opportunity to discuss watershed and ecological processes under different climatic conditions (temperate vs. tropical), the round table could become the seed for future scientific collaborations.

The scientific discussion focused on the following scientific aspects: 1) Load evaluation, point and no point sources; nutrient loads and transport; 2) Circulation of organic matter; 3) Ecological implication of eutrophication and remediation strategies; 4) innovative methodology; 5) Interdisciplinary approach to research.