Post-eruption Mount Merapi, UNESCO, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the Friends of Borobudur held an emergency response to rescue Borobudur Temple.Borobudur is a UNESCO world heritage site. An emergency operation seeks to protect the Borobudur temple from damage that may arise due to the eruption of Mount Merapi.In addition, another action is to revive the livelihoods of local communities who depend on tourism.
"I visited Borobudur last Thursday to see firsthand the development of cleanup and restoration efforts," said Director of UNESCO Regional Science Bureau for Asia and the Pacific Hubert Gijzen to Kompas.com, Sunday (01/16/2011). He added that the business is going well and there are many workers or volunteers who participated in these large-scale mission.
Gijzen explains, Friends of Borobudur is an informal group which consists of individuals who have long-term interest in protecting the Borobudur temple complex. This group includes people from the private sector, public sector, and the diplomatic corps. The group was established in mid-November pascaerupsi Mount Merapi. It hoped to complete restoration of Borobudur temple in May 2011.
"UNESCO World Heritage Site is able to return completely open to visitors and tourists from overseas," said Gijzen.
He also expects the Borobudur Temple will always be a tourist attraction and to develop social and economic life of local communities.
"Its main purpose is to provide long-term contribution to always protect a unique world heritage site," he said. Support of donors from around the world are also very helpful in the restoration process.
According to the Head of the Culture Unit of UNESCO Office in Jakarta to Kompas.com Masanori Nagaoka, Monday (17/01/2011), some of the international community and the private sector to allocate funds to improve the physical condition of the Borobudur Temple. However, it faces a shortage of donated funds for the next phase of the project, namely reactivate livelihoods around the Borobudur Temple.
"That's why we want to introduce on-line donation," he said.
UNESCO now has a chance for anyone who wants to donate in protecting the Borobudur temple via the website www.unesco.org.
Source: Kompas.com
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