On 12-15 July 2022, Lecturer at the Faculty of Biology UGM Akbar Reza, M.Sc and Puji Lestari, S. Hut, M.Sc lecturers at the Department of Biology and Veterinary Technology at the UGM Vocational School carried out research and community service activities in Kotabaru, South Kalimantan, particularly Hilir Muara Village and Gedambaan Village. The activity which is a cross-sectoral collaboration between the Social Development Studies Center (SODEC) UGM, Faculty of Biology UGM, PT. Mubadala Energy, Kotabaru Polytechnic and the local government have been implementing this since 2020. Activities in Hilir Muara Village focus on empowering coastal communities with main assistance to Pokdarlis (Environmental Awareness Group), UMKM (Hilir Muara Cinta Bumi), and Waste Bank. Some of the programs initiated include greenhouses establishment for plants with economic value and native of Kalimantan, optimizing composters, including initiating collaboration with BUMDES and assisting BPOM’s licensing process for UMKM. These programs were initiated out of concern for the sustainability of coastal ecosystems which actually provide high ecosystem services, especially in the face of the climate crisis. Furthermore, the waste problem is also a problem for coastal areas which, apart from reducing aesthetics, also has the potential to cause long-term health problems.
Activities continued in Gedambaan Village which focused on studying coastal biodiversity. On this occasion, Akbar Reza, M.Sc with an expertise on ecology and conservation, and Puji Lestari, S.Hut, M.Sc with an expertise on Forestry were responsible for justifying techniques and locations for planting mangroves, determining permanent plots (PUP), and monitoring methods as an initiation for long-term monitoring. In its implementation, this activity was intensely assisted by Fitra Nofra, S.Si and Gema Starliantri, S.Hut as the Biodiversity Officer of PT. Mubadala Energy, in collaboration with the Kotabaru Polytechnic and the Gedambaan Village Government as the main actors. On the same occasion, planning was also carried out for a program for planting typical Kalimantan plants in collaboration with the Pulau Laut Sebuku in the Environmental Services Block in the Bukit Mamake area. Furthermore, in the long term these programs are expected to have economic value that can support the lives of local communities.
In general, these research activities and empowerment programs simultaneously support national programs such as PROKLIM Village, climate change adaptation, and local community-based blue carbon ecosystem preservation. It is hoped that the programs implemented will actually be able to help coastal communities as vulnerable to climate change. In addition, the programs are expected to be able to bring about change, both from an environmental and economic perspective