The Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development. Bali, Indonesia, 1-5 July 2024

Photo credit: The Indonesian Seagrass Mapping Partnership

Muhammad Hafizt, one of the HDR students in EORC, participated in a workshop at The Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development held in Bali, Indonesia, from July 1-5, 2024. This event was organized by The Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP)[1] in collaboration with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Republic of Indonesia. He attended several workshops, notably one titled "Introduction to the Capabilities of Cloud-based Spatial Frameworks," which focused on utilizing Google Earth Engine for extracting time-series data on seagrass coverage. This workshop was led by Dr. Mitchell Lyons from UNSW, who earned his doctorate in 2012 under EORC. Furthermore, Dr. Dody Yuwono and Dr. Novi Susetyo Hadi, who received their doctorates in 2023 and 2015 respectively under EORC, were present to share the progress of the Indonesian national seagrass mapping project during a side event.

Hafizt's participation aimed to grasp the urgent need for large-scale seagrass maps in relation to carbon stock, which is the focus of his PhD research. Additionally, he contributed as a member of the Indonesian national seagrass mapping project. The discussions emphasized Indonesia's critical need for a national seagrass map integral to ocean accounting and carbon stock calculations. The creation of national-scale, time-series seagrass maps, facilitated by Google Earth Engine, will support Indonesia in enhancing ocean accounting, complemented by additional data on coral reefs and mangrove coverage.

[1] https://www.oceanaccounts.org/global-dialogue-sustainable-ocean-development/