"BEM FEB UNUD Collaborates with Sungai Watch to Hold Mangrove Clean Up 2023"

• By Admin
• Selasa, 14 Februari 2023

Denpasar, Press Bureau of BEM FEB Unud - Student Executive Board (BEM) of the Faculty of Economics and Business, Udayana University carried out the Mangrove Clean Up 2023 on Friday (10/2) which took place at Mangrove Last Point, Denpasar. Environmental care activities are a form of community service carried out by BEM FEB Unud with the title Social Equilibrium Campaign. The Mangrove Clean Up 2023 activity is carried out as a form of concrete action by our institutions to care for the surrounding environment and to commemorate National Waste Awareness Day which falls on Tuesday (21/2). Nevertheless, the specific purpose of carrying out this activity is to carry out real actions to care for the environment and take first steps together so that they can quickly overcome existing environmental problems and reach the wider community, especially the millennial generation, to play an active role in keeping the environment clean.

The waste problem that is still volatile and sustainable, especially plastic waste that is difficult to decompose, can damage the mangrove forest ecosystem. Usually, the trash in mangrove forests comes from waste that is wasted and drifts into rivers which then empty into the sea. In commemorating National Waste Awareness Day, BEM FEB Unud is promoting environmental care by involving one of the communities, namely Sungai Watch. BEM FEB Unud is collaborating with a community that plays an active role in cleaning rivers in Bali, together they go directly to clean up trash in the mangrove forest. Not only that, this collaboration also aims to spread awareness to more people, especially the younger generation, to care for the environment. Judging from the large amount of waste that has accumulated during forest clearing, it is reflected that the community's awareness in waste management and protecting the environment is still lacking. Based on the cleaning activities in the forest, 151 sacks with a total weight of 992 kg of waste were collected. I Made Dwi Bagiasa as Head of Patrol from Sungai Watch revealed that the origin of the waste piled up at Mangrove Last Point, Denpasar comes from several river points. "In this channel, each village's river path is different, the source is the Badung tributary, the waste is from Abian Tegal, Pemogan Kaja, Pedungan (a little), the rest is Pemogan, Suung, and Islamic Village," he said.

Sungai Watch has made various efforts to overcome this crucial waste problem, one of which is by constructing 10 trash barriers along the river which are managed by Sungai Watch. The purpose of making this trash barrier is to filter waste so it does not disturb the habitat of living things in the mangrove forest. This trash barrier can filter around 90% of the waste from upstream, then about 10% of the waste will pass through the filter. Even though cleaning in the mangrove river area is carried out consistently and continuously, garbage is still sent every day from several surrounding rivers. This shows that even though there are many regulations and prohibitions against littering, especially in rivers, there are still many people who are not aware and continue to violate the rules. Dwi Bagiasa emphasized that in the future law enforcement related to the problem of littering and littering should be paid more attention to and tightened by the government in order to increase public awareness of the environment, especially rivers as a source of life on earth because to solve this problem cannot be solved by one party alone, but requires the contribution of all elements of society.

Collaboration is one way to establish cooperation with various parties to solve the waste problem that is still not over. This Mangrove Clean Up activity is a real implementation of the BEM FEB Unud tagline in 2023 namely Action Collaboration as a form of contributing to preserving the environment by collaborating with external parties to make the event a success. Nature provides everything that humans need and it is a shared responsibility to keep it sustainable. In line with this, Dwi Bagiasa invites all human beings to remind each other to take care of nature including mangrove forests, one of which is to maintain water and air quality. “To deal with waste, we must work together wisely and diligently remind each other that nature always meets our needs and nature provides us shelter. So, take care of them if you want beauty and a peaceful environment together," he stressed. "In the future I hope that the community can move and help become volunteers to join Sungai Watch activities by checking our Instagram account, namely @sungaiwatch," he added, while also representing the hopes of Sungai Watch. In line with Dwi Bagiasa, Head of BEM FEB Unud for the 2023 period, Anak Agung Bagus Ngurah Nararya Nata, also revealed to take one step first, one step ahead, by trying to take action together in every activity including cleaning up all the trash by involving parties outside. "I hope that all students in the economics community can be involved so that this activity can be compared to the mangroves under construction. So, we all act together to realize positive steps around us," he said. (rsa/snt/kta/ang/els/mty)