Waktu berjalan, Februari telah bergerak, kerja dan tugas makin berat, tetap semangat dan senyum. Maret terjadi Gempa di Jepang dan Myanmar. Tsunami terjadi di Jepang serta efek lain dari gempa yakni radioaktif dari kebocoran reaktor nuklir Jepang. Tahun 2004 terjadi juga Gempa dan Tsunami di Aceh. Berikut ini sebuah tulisan di Majalah ArcNews yang coba ditulis ulang sebagai catatan dan sebagai tambahan ide  pemikiran.

Using GIS to Bring Accountability and Transparency to International Relief Effort.

(ESRI. page 36, ArcNews Vol 32. No 2, Summer 2010.) http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/summer10articles/using-gis.html

More than 100 international agencies, including nongovernmental agencies, come to the aid of Aceh Province in Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami. That year, a magnitude 9.1. earthquake in the Indian Ocean set off a devastating tsunami with wave up 30 meters high striking Southeast Asia. Almost 230.000 people in 14 countries lost their lives. The greatest damage occurred in Aceh Province on the Northern tip of  Sumatra. The coastal region was leveled. Water rushed inland as far as four kilometers,in one instance carrying with it  2,600-ton barge and depositing it to languish as a reminder of what had happened.  The tsunami severely impacted services and infrastructure throughout Aceh Provinces. Water, sewer, and electrical systems were destroyed and had to be reestablished. Even transporting supplies and the labor force to the effected areas was hampered, because the road along the west coast had been severely damaged or completely washed away in large sections.

Seeing the region today, little evidence remains of the devastation, as Aceh Provinces continues to not only recover but also, as the government’s motto says, “build back better”

Understanding Geography to Provide More Effective Aid.

Fro the beginning, GIS played an important role in mapping the impact of the disaster, guiding emergency responders to the devastated areas, and coordinating the relief effort. International agencies’ host nations contributed US$4.5 billion to the rebuilding effort.

It was important to  ensure that contributions went to the people who needed the help so that the next time a disaster occurred, such as the magnitude 7 earthquake in Haiti and the magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile, countries would once again be willing to provide relief. Trying to meet the challenge of following the global audit trial with the help of GIS is the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).

INTOSAI, based in Vienna, Austria, serves as an umbrella organization for international government audit community. The Organization is autonomous and nonpolitical, working with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). ECOSOC sets forth policy recommendations for promoting higher standards of living; identifying solutions to international economic, social, health problems; and encouraging universal respect for human rights. For more than 50 years, INTOSAI has provided a framework to improve government auditing worldwilde.

Over last few years, INTOSAI has learned how to improve the transparency, accountability, and audit the flow of international aid by using GIS.

Wanting to take a lesson from one of the countries affected by the tsunami, representatives of INTOSAI Tsunami Task Force attended a weeklong training course in the spring of 2006 at Aceh’s Syiah Kuala University. It was hosted by the GIS and RS Laboratory at the University. The Tsunami Task Force members learned how to use geospatial information to help plan, coordinate, monitor, and audit disaster-related aid. The session was taught by staff from BRR NAD-Nias, the temporary building and reconstruction arm of the Indonesian government in ACeh Province.  Auditors from the Indonesian Supreme Audit Institute (BPK) folowed an intensive course focused on GIS and the use and integration of imagery data in their work. Training was provided by the International Institute for Geo-Information Science  and Earth Observation, now part of the University of Twente in the Netherlands. ESRI provided ArcGis licences for a hands-on tutorial.