A landscape-based approach is crucial in the management and development of natural tourism. To support this, the Mount Merbabu National Park Authority organized a workshop with the theme “Development of Ecotourism in Mount Merbabu National Park to Support the Merapi, Merbabu, Menoreh Biosphere Reserve through a Landscape-Based Approach: Experiences and Prospects.” The event also marked the retirement of Ir. Junita Parjanti, M.T. as the Head of the Mount Merbabu National Park Authority. This event, held on June 21, 2023, took place at the Lorin Solo Hotel in Karanganyar, Central Java, with the keynote speaker being the Director General of KSDAE, Prof. Dr. Ir. Satyawan Pudyatmoko, S.Hut., M.Sc., IPU. In his virtual presentation, he discussed topics related to Landscape-Based Conservation Area Management, Ecosystems, and Communities. During the event, Prof. Satyawan also launched the Virtual Assistant hiking tour of Mount Merbabu National Park.
This Workshop also invited Prof. Luchman Hakim, S.Si., M.Agr.Sc., Ph.D., a faculty member from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at Brawijaya University as speaker, who presented on “Ecotourism Development in the Biosphere Reserve: Concepts, Implementation, and Challenges,” and Prof. Dr. Yohanes Purwanto from the Ecology and Ethnobiology Research Center at BRIN, who discussed “Landscape-Based Concept for Biosphere Reserve Management.” As a closing session, the Head of Mount Merbabu National Park Authority, Ir. Junita Parjanti, M.T., presented on “Implementation of Landscape-Based Ecotourism in Mount Merbabu National Park.”
During this occasion, representing the Dean of the Faculty of Biology at UGM, Prof. Dr. Budi S. Daryono, M.Agr.Sc., the Chair of the Tropical Biology Department, Abdul Razaq Chasani, Ph.D., emphasized the need for a balance between anthropocentric and biosentris perspectives in the development of the biosphere reserve’s ecotourism. The human-centered anthropocentric approach should be complemented by an understanding of the significance of biota as the primary components of the biosphere, a principle strongly emphasized in the teachings of the Faculty of Biology at UGM.
The Workshop was attended by various officials including bureau chiefs, regents, directors, department heads, deans, and national park authorities in the fields of environment and forestry, and it took place from morning until afternoon. The event concluded with a farewell and appreciation gathering for Ir. Junita Parjanti, M.T., the retiring Head of the Mount Merbabu National Park Authority.