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The Importance of Public Education and Interpretation in the Conservation of Toba Caldera Geoheritage

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Abstract

This article discusses the importance of local community involvement and their appreciation concerning geotourism. The Toba Caldera is an interesting area that forms a unique, spectacular landscape and is a popular international tourist destination. This caldera has become an important Indonesian tourism icon, and a plan is being developed with respect to sustainable development within the vicinity. The authors prepared an educational outreach event consisting of class and field presentations to residents of the Lake Toba area. The course covered the evolution of the Toba Caldera and its relationship to Samosir Island, part of a resurgent dome complex (Chesner 2011). A comprehensive survey indicated that approximately 67% of the local residents and students in the course understood the geological implications of the Toba area. This number indicates a very rapid increase, when compared to 11% of those individuals who understood the volcanic geology aspect before they entered the education program. Fortunately, soon after learning the material, the residents and the students demonstrated an eagerness to preserve the Toba Caldera geoheritage site (i.e., to protect the fossil geosites and/or become involved as geotourism guides). This attitude can be considered as the key factor for the success of Toba’s geoheritage preservation, which is dependent on the awareness of local communities and their appreciation towards geoconservation, especially at fossil outcrop locations. Fossil outcrops are so important because of their limited distribution and they usually were preserved in a soft rock/formation. Another finding of this study is that 53% of the participants (most of them are young boys) became interested in geotourism guide services after learning the evolution of the Toba Caldera, citing a desire to be involved in the Toba caldera geopark program’s success. In response to the positive impact the program had on the participants, the authors assisted them in developing a responsibility to protect the geoheritage of Toba Caldera from any disrupters. In addition to the study, the authors produced a geoheritage map that displays 36 geosites. Moreover, for further advancement of public education programs, some written materials will be prepared, such as leaflets, posters, and geotourism guidelines.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to take this opportunity to thank the directorate of higher education for the chance given to them through research and community service. Many thanks also to the local government, Mr. Waden Nainggolan as the village head of Cinta Dame and the Karang Taruna community, also to the young education society of SMAN 1 and SMAN 2 Pangururan. The authors also thank the Institute of Technology of Medan, LPM of the Institute of Technology of Medan, for the aid given. Special thanks to Dr. Kevin Page who always showed his full support and to Prof K. Nemeth, Mr. Kenneth J. Lazara II, Mr. Dewarman, and other reviewers who read and gave some corrections, comments, and suggestions to this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, University of North Sumatra, Jalan Dr. T. Mansur No.9, Padang Bulan, Kecamatan Medan Baru, Kota Medan, Sumatera Utara, 20222, Indonesia

    Said Muzambiq

  2. Department of Architecture, Institute of Technology of Medan, Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia

    Hibnul Walid

  3. Department of Planology, Institute of Technology of Medan, Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia

    Tunggul Hermansyah Ganie

  4. Department of Tourism, Sekolah Tinggi Pariwisata AMPTA Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

    Hary Hermawan

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  1. Said Muzambiq
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  2. Hibnul Walid
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  3. Tunggul Hermansyah Ganie
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  4. Hary Hermawan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Said Muzambiq.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Geoheritage: the foundation for sustainable geotourism.

Appendix

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https://goo.gl/maps/sY9aZyuyb9dkwSXAA

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Muzambiq, S., Walid, H., Ganie, T.H. et al. The Importance of Public Education and Interpretation in the Conservation of Toba Caldera Geoheritage. Geoheritage 13, 3 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-020-00523-x

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